Country & Town House - May 2018

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

MAY 2018 £3.90

LA BELLA

GOING TO THE CHAPEL Our guide to getting hitched

FIGURA

Living the Italian way

THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX

SPA GUIDE

Why the county is really super cool

Grab your health with both hands

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C ON T E N T S M A Y

2 0 1 8

Columns 20 22

THE GOOD LIFE Alice B-B on mindful meat-eating THE RURBANIST Cressida Cowell

Up Front 25 26 30 32 37 42 52 56 58 60 62

COVER STYLE Ward Whillas does good beach etiquette WEDDING BELLES Be the bestdressed guest LUCIA LOVES Osborne & Little STYLE NOTEBOOK All about mothers and Meghan MARRY ME? The ultimate wedding scrapbook A NICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING Bling for the big day THE GOLD DIGGER Jewellery news MY BEAUTIFUL LIFE Dr Maryam Zamani, founder of MZ Skin BODY & SOUL Sustainable weightloss WELL GROOMED Men’s style news ’TIS THE SEASON What to wear, where

The Guide 67 72 74 76 78 80

THE DIARY At home with the Kennedys ARTS AGENDA The traditional paintbrush and canvas GOOD READS Prize-winning authors THE OLYMPIAN Sebastian Coe on Badminton Horse Trials ROAD TEST The BMW i8 CONVERSATIONS AT SCARFES BAR Matthew Bell meets the formidable Ruth Rogers, of The River Café

Fashion & Features 84 92

100

SAFARI STYLE Wild accessories FINDING LA BELLA FIGURA Kamin Mohammadi on why she ditched London for a different way of life in Italy 96 THE A-Z OF BEAUTY & WELLNESS Your guide to everything from alcoholfree to getting good zzzzzz...

100 THE SHAPE OF WATER Ethereal and dreamy in Antigua 108 ON LOCATION C&TH heads to the Caribbean for the cover shoot

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C&TH

C ON T E N T S M A Y

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Spa Guide 111

Forty-five pages of the best places to go to nurture the mind, body and soul. From ayurvedic retreats in India and medical cleanses in Austria to family-friendly spas in Dubai, there is something here for everyone.

Plus, spa news, forest bathing, the art of the retox and the top non-surgical procedures.

The Insider 157 BLOOMIN’ WONDERFUL Cathy

Graham knows how to lay a table 158 DESIGN NOTES News, views and

inspiration by Carole Annett 160 WELL SEATED Outdoor furniture 162 HERE COMES THE BRIDE

Outdo other guests by bringing the most fabulous wedding present 163 DESIGN Q&A Vanessa Arbuthnott

Food & Travel 165 WILD BUSH BLISS Jeremy Taylor

168 170 172 175

heads Down Under and follows in Pippa Middleton’s honeymoon footsteps BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Rosalyn Wikeley explores Tasmania THE HOTEL WIZARD Wiltshire weekends GASTRO GOSSIP The vegan burger FORK & FIELD Two perfect pubs

On The Move 177 178 180 181

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ON THE COVER Photography by Nicky Emmerson.

Fashion direction by Nicole Smallwood. Hair by Sophie Higginson using Oribe. Make-up and nails by Sophie Higginson using CHANEL Rouge Coco Lip Blush and Blue Serum Eye and CHANEL Neapolis: New City

PROPERTY OF THE MONTH LET’S MOVE TO... Essex SIX OF THE BEST Essex homes for sale TEN THINGS TO DO IN ESSEX Country pursuits and Roman history

Regulars 10 14 64 176

EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS HIGH SOCIETY STOCKISTS

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5 WEST HALKIN STREET, LONDON SW1X 8JA +44 (0)20 7823 0100 • ELIZABETH – GAGE.COM

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EDITOR’S LETTER 132

W

EDITOR’S PICKS

BUY This Lalique ring just makes me happy

READ I’m late to the table, but this book is life-changing

hen I got married I made a pact with my husband that every year I’d take a week out, a time that was all – entirely selfishly – about me. No children. No dog. No housework. No office.

And what do I do with those sacred seven days?

I’d like to say I went on some kind of selfimprovement course like learning Italian in a week, but no, I go to a spa.

Because not only is visiting a spa on your own as common as couples kissing on the Pont des Arts in Paris, it is akin to giving your mind and body an annual MOT. You come back clearer mentally; a couple of kilos lighter physically; full of fresh air and, most importantly, having rested and relaxed. A no brainer in my book.

So I urge you all, men and women, to find a spa for you within our indispensible guide, edited by Daisy Finer, and with contributors who know their ayurveda from their adaptogens.

It starts on page 111 and profiles places, all handpicked and tried out by us (tough job!), that will heal you after chemotherapy, help you drop pounds and keep them off, get you fit or give you spiritual

WEAR Pitusa is the only sundress brand worth packing in my opinion

BOOK Tickets for Hay Festival, where C&TH is hosting a debate with Ed Vaizey in the chair

100 42

sustenance. What are you waiting for?

Writer Kamin Mohammadi found her own salvation in Italy. Fed up with life as a glossy magazine editor, she felt overweight, overwrought and over London, so on the advice of a friend, she upped sticks and moved to Florence. There she found how to live the Italian way – La Bella Figura – and now she’s written about how to do it yourself. Each of the 12 chapters for each month starts with what’s in season, the scent of the city, an Italian moment and an Italian word. Come away armed with ideas on why looking up, eating with passion and slowing everything down a notch can improve life no end – and, even, as happened to her, give you a fairytale ending (p92).

Finally, I’d like to direct you to our new podcast, What’s On by Country & Town House, which you can find links to on our website. Based on the idea of audiotours around Britain, our first few episodes feature llama-trekking in Surrey, the life of Beatrix Potter in the Lake District and the UK’s Grand Tour, an artistic trail of the north of England.

It’s a little light-hearted look at the best of British and might just give you a giggle or two. Enjoy!

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@countryandtown /countryandtownhousemagazine /countryandtownhouse

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SOME DREAMS

CAN’T WAIT

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CA CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIE BELL

A GO OAD TA G L IAT E L L E Diamond, gold and silver rings Cassandra Goad 147 Sloane Street London SW1X 9BZ Tel: 020 7730 2202

cassandragoad.com

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What’s the perfect start to your day?

An early morning swim with the pool to myself.

What’s your top tip for living a little longer and healthier? A lifelong love affair with fresh vegetables.

When you want a naughty little something, what do you reach for?

A really beautiful, handmade Normandy butter makes everything taste luxurious.

Best spa experience you’ve ever had? Hôtel Le Bristol Paris has a pool fashioned like a ship with incredible views over the rooftops and a spa

by La Prairie, and the dinner downstairs is out of this world.

KAMIN MOHAMMADI

What’s the perfect start to your day? Straight on the yoga mat with my teacher’s chanting on the stereo.

What’s your top tip for living a little longer and healthier? Consciously combat stress with love, kindness and generosity. And drink olive oil.

When you want a naughty little something, what do you reach for? Special chocolates made to order by a friend.

Best spa experience you’ve ever had? If anything can ever beat the Four Seasons Bali at Sayan’s sacred nap (where you are cocooned in a silk hammock and rocked to sleep by an exBuddhist nun telling the story of the buddha’s birth), I will eat my hat.

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CONTRIBUTORS

SOPHIE BENGE

What’s the perfect start to your day?

Turning the shower from hot to as cold as it will go... it starts my day in a calm, yet energised way.

What’s your top tip for living a little longer and healthier?

Absolute honesty in all I say and do.

When you want a naughty little something, what do you reach for? I’m currently living in Bologna with stuzzichini (little snack) on every corner so I’m spoilt for choice!

Best spa experience you’ve ever had? A traditional smoke sauna in the Estonian countryside: overheating, bashed with branches then rolling naked in the snow. It’s a lot more magical than it sounds.

LISA BROWN

MADE IN ENGLAND | SINCE 1879

Carly

A Women’s tassel Loafer style Made in England using the finest European suede

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What’s the perfect start to your day?

Sunshine. I’ve really noticed how the weather affects my mood recently.

What’s your top tip for living a little longer and healthier?

Stress can have a major negative impact on your health so try not to worry about things that don’t really matter.

When you want a naughty little something, what do you reach for? Wine. I’m often naughty.

Best spa experience you’ve ever had? It’s difficult to choose just one. But having warm ghee poured into my eyes (Netra Basti) at Ananda in the Himalayas was an amazing experience.

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CO U NTRYA N DTOW N H O U S E .CO.U K

EDITOR Lucy Cleland EDITOR-AT-LARGE Alice B-B ASSOCIATE EDITOR Charlotte Metcalf FASHION DIRECTOR Lucy Bond CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITOR Nicole Smallwood LUXURY EDITOR Lucia van der Post INTERIORS EDITOR Carole Annett JEWELLERY EDITOR Annabel Davidson RETAIL EDITOR Rosalyn Wikeley BEAUTY EDITOR Nathalie Eleni PROPERTY EDITOR Anna Tyzack FEATURES ASSISTANT & SUB EDITOR Chloe Smith ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Maya Monro-Somerville PROPERTY MARKETING MANAGER Gemma Cowley SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Felicity Reid SALES EXECUTIVE Olivia Milligan CREATIVE DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Parm Bhamra JUNIOR PRODUCTION DESIGNER Samuel Thomas ONLINE EDITOR Rebecca Cox DIGITAL ASSISTANT Clementina Jackson JUNIOR ONLINE WRITER Bella Lewis TECHNICAL MANAGER Hannah Johnson TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Mark Pearson DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY Wil Harris CREDIT CONTROLLER Penny Burles OPERATIONS & ACCOUNTS MANAGER Millie Mountain ACCOUNTS CONTROLLER Jane Todd FINANCE DIRECTOR Jill Newey PUBLISHER Julia Carrick MANAGING DIRECTOR Jeremy Isaac CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Stephen Bayley, Simon de Burton, Fiona Duncan, Daisy Finer, Lydia Gard, Avril Groom, Richard Hopton, Emma Love, Mary Lussiana, Anna Pasternak, Caroline Phillips, Marcus Scriven THE EDITOR editorial@countryandtownhouse.co.uk FASHION fashion@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ADVERTISING advertising@countryandtownhouse.co.uk PROPERTY ADVERTISING property@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ACCOUNTS accounts@countryandtownhouse.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS subscribe@countryandtownhouse.co.uk

T h e P u rd e y L a d i e s C ou r se U N RIVALLE D TU ITION F OR L ADI E S WHO WANT TO S HOOT WITH ST YLE , CON S I STE NCY AN D E LEGANC E

In c l u d e s 3 o n e h o u r i n d i v i d u a l s h o o t i n g l e s s o n s & 15 0 c a r t r i d ge s a n d c l a y s I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

020 8845 1377 W W W.SHOOTINGSCHOOL .CO.UK SH A RV EL L A NE, WEST END ROA D NORTHOLT, UB5 6R A

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COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE is a monthly magazine distributed to AB homes in Barnes, Battersea, Bayswater, Belgravia, Brook Green, Chelsea, Chiswick, Clapham, Coombe, Fulham, Holland Park, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Marylebone, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Pimlico, South Kensington, Wandsworth and Wimbledon, as well as being available from leading country and London estate agents. It is also on sale at selected WHSmith, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s stores and independent newsagents nationwide. It has an estimated readership of 150,000. It is available on subscription in the UK for £29.99 per annum. To subscribe online, iPad, iPhone and android all for only £24.99 visit: exacteditions.com/read/countrytownhouse.

For subscription enquiries, please call 020 7384 9011 or email subscribe@countryandtownhouse. co.uk. It is published by Country & Town House Ltd, Studio 2, Chelsea Gate Studios, 115 Harwood Road, London SW6 4QL (tel: 020 7384 9011). Registered number 576850 England and Wales.

Printed in the UK by William Gibbons and Sons Ltd, West Midlands. Paper supplied by Gerald Judd. Distribution by Letterbox.

Copyright © 2018 Country & Town House Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Materials are accepted on the understanding that no liability is incurred for safe custody. The publisher cannot be responsible for unsolicited material. All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. Whilst every care is taken to ensure information is correct at time of going to press, it is subject to change, and C&TH Ltd. takes no responsibility for omissions or errors.

Country & Town House is a member of CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England)

Please recycle

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COLUMN

THE GOOD LIFE Alice B-B plays chicken and has blonde ambition

SWEAT IN STYLE Collaboration sensation. Emilia Wickstead x Bodyism.com

THIS MONTH I’LL BE

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LIGHT IT UP Get the glow with charlotte tilbury.com

GODDESS DENIM Heavenly strides from mih-jeans.com

EVERY BIRD IS SPECIAL Chick power at daylesford.com

FROM THE ROOTS UP… Blonde ambition with joshwoodcolour.com

PORTRAIT BY JANE MCLEISH-KELSEY

H

AVE A GUESS HOW MUCH OF OUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME WE SPEND ON FOOD. On average, it’s just 15 per cent. A paltry figure, when you consider that 50 years go it was 33 per cent. It seems there are two things at play here.

Firstly, there’s lots of exciting stuff to spend money on: tech, cars, holidays, clothes. Secondly, on the whole, we want cheap food.

Which is strange in this era of nutritional awareness, specifically linking the microbiome in the gut to both our physical health and emotional wellness.

I’ll never forget hearing the tales of a co-worker at Vogue – who as a young’un had temped at a chicken factory. She described the gory horror, the lack of consideration for both the animals’ and human welfare; apparently the lowest grade of poultry – some chickens were deformed, others riddled with tumors – was reserved for a famous fast-food high street chain. Even the cat food was a higher grade.

So to hear that Daylesford Organic, which, under the trailblazing vision of Lady Bamford, has been farming organically and sustainably for over 35 years, has opened its own hatchery and abattoir in Staffordshire, is excellent news. The slow-growing breed enjoys a varied, organic, forage-based diet – in a truly freerange, organic environment. Probably the next best thing to keeping frilly-knickered birds in your own back garden. And, yes, Daylesford Organic chickens may be expensive, but I’d rather eat it once a week than gorge on cheap foul, stuffed with antibiotics, that never see the light of day and are bred to put on weight so fast they’re often unable to support their own body mass and spend most of their sorry lives sitting in their own shit. No thank you.

IN THE STREET, IN HOSPITAL, IN THE SEYCHELLES... Just a few of the places I’ve been stopped by, ‘I love your hair!’ Lovely and very flattering. But nothing to do with my actual hair and everything to do with the wizardry of Josh Obsessing Wood – an amazing friend and over genius colourist, who works a Farmacy’s macro bowls and bleach-brush like a wand. And now coconut matcha he’s been conjuring up bubbling lattes farmacy potions – the Josh Wood Colour london.com System. A complete at-home Painting colouring protocol with online lampshades – learning new consultations and how-to films. skills with Cressida I’m loving the Everything Mask Bell. cressida with a blonde Shade Shot. And word bell.co.uk is the range of Root Concealers – for Reading covering pesky grey regrowth – are rainbows in The already saving the sanity of women Chakra Project by up and down the land.

Georgia Coleridge.

GAZING AT THE NEW MIH georgiacoleridge healing.com JEANS CAMPAIGN INSPIRES MY SUMMER MOOD. Dreamy denim shorts, a perfect tee and sexy zip jeans designed by Chloe Lonsdale, dressed with hits of 70s vintage by uber-stylist Cathy Kasterine, shot on a road trip in Marrakech by model, writer and now photographer Laura Bailey.

Stick all this goddess power in the mix and what do you get… the twinkliest constellation for hot days and steamier nights.

LUXURY & NECESSITY

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INTERVIEW

THE RURBANIST

Where do you go when you don’t want anyone to get hold of you? I work in a shed at the bottom on my garden. It’s only a 30-second walk from my kitchen, but that’s a crucial bit of distance.

Children’s author Cressida Cowell would have no problem living on a desert island

Post Brexit Britain… in a sentence? A Britain that needs empathy and kindness more than ever.

What are Saturday afternoons made for?

Ideally, pottering about in the garden or going for a walk with our dog, Pigeon. In reality, it’s often meeting a book deadline.

Which historic country house would you most like to snap up? I visited Knole House for a National Trust book festival last year and I thought it was fascinating.

What would you change about yourself?

Most of my faults can be seen as positives as well. For instance, I’m very self-critical – but that is handy because it makes you write a better book.

Where’s home? Hammersmith in London. It’s easy to get into town on the District Line, has lovely walks by the river up to Chiswick and Kew Gardens and the kids walk to school – very friendly and neighbourly.

Where do you go to escape the city? My parents have a house in Suffolk and there are some gorgeous woodland walks which were part of the inspiration for my most recent book, The Wizards of Once.

Cottesloe (now Dorfman) Theatre 30 years ago.

Best thing a cabbie has ever said to you? When cabbies learn you’re an author, most have a book idea they want to pitch to you which is always entertaining.

Favourite game to play? I grew up in a very competitive family, and games were a serious business. We played all sorts, but I’d probably go for Scrabble, hearts or backgammon.

I’m more expert than most at this question because I spent my childhood summers on a Scottish island with no electricity (and therefore no television).

I’d take The Canterbury Tales and the How to Train Your Dragon film soundtrack by John Powell.

What three items would you save from your burning house?

Last play/concert/film you saw and what did you think of it? I’m looking

Assuming that everyone living in the house had escaped, I’d go for family photos, my laptop (which has my latest book on) and some of my illustrations.

forward to seeing Hamilton with the family – the kids have been playing the soundtrack constantly so I already feel I know it back to front, but you can’t beat seeing something live.

What would really improve your life? More than

What would you do as mayor for the day? Support libraries. I’m

24 hours in each day.

Where was the last place you ‘discovered’? I went

an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust, and it’s been proven time and again that getting children to read for pleasure is vitally important, both for them and for us as a society.

on a book tour to the US last year, and loved Seattle.

Beautiful coastline, yummy food and very friendly people.

What brings out the worst in you?

Unkindness – a theme of my books is encouraging children to think about empathy and see things from others’ point of view.

Who’s coming round for dinner and what are you cooking?

I have a lovely extended family, so I’d invite them all around for seafood, wine and a chocolate-y dessert.

Cressida is speaking at Barnes Children’s Literature Festival on 12 May. barneskidslitfest.org

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

What has been the most memorable night out you’ve had in London? Watching The Mysteries at the

Which book would you take and song would you listen to on your desert island?

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C&TH

U P F RON T ST YLE · B E AUT Y · J E WELLERY · PARTIES

COVER STYLE There are many ways to cover up when it comes to beach etiquette, but one of our favourites this summer is Ward Whillas’ silk, reversible number all in white. Simple, chic and sophisticated, just how we like it. wardwhillas.com

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UP FRONT rodarte.com STYLE

WEDDING BELLES Pale and interesting or bold and bright

Favourbrook Georgina coat in cotton jacquard, £650. favourbrook.com

Paul Smith Wool blazer, £805, trousers, £425. paulsmith.co.uk

Escada Shirt, £706. escada.com

Awon Golding Icon hat, £570. awongolding.com

COUNTRY Van Peterson Rose gold and pearl drop earrings, £195. vanpeterson.com

TOWN

Dolce & Gabbana Tulle dress, £2,800. harrods.com

Beulah London Ratna dress, £450. beulahlondon.com

Robinson Pelham Siren opal earrings, £4,850. robinson pelham.com

Suzannah Odette jumpsuit, £1,050. suzannah.com

WtR Flor de manzano skirt, £320. wtrlondon.com Geo by George Peplum top, £198.50. geobygeorge.com

Isabelle Fox Trousers, £245. isabellefox.com See By Chloé Desert cape coat, £335. coggles.com

Lena Hoschek Mules, £290. shop. lenahoschek.com

Grand Bazaar London hat, £190. grandbazaarlondon.co.uk

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UP FRONT LUXURY

LUCIA LOVES

LIFE’S LITTLE LUXURIES

Osborne & Little has always shaken up the rulebook, says Lucia van der Post

S

ome 50 years ago now Peter Osborne and his brother-in-law Antony Little had an idea – they would start a wallpaper company and call it Osborne & Little.

It would do for wallpaper what all the maverick talents gathering in London at the time were doing for fashion (Mary Quant, Ossie Clark, Barbara Hulanicki), music (the Beatles) and design (Zeev Aram had just opened his minimalist furniture shop selling Castiglione, Artemide and Le Corbusier).

Osborne & Little launched with some thrillingly modern, geometric hand-printed designs that were larger, bolder and a million miles away from the sedate florals and classical designs purveyed by the establishment. And looking again at those early designs today, it is striking how fresh and modern they seem still.

Very soon they were acknowledged to be at the forefront of wallpaper creativity, winning one design accolade after another. As a young journalist at the Financial Times in 1985, I wrote that, ‘Osborne & Little could be said to have done for wallpaper what Torvill and Dean did for skating – that is they transformed the potentially mundane into an art form.’

Since then they have put creativity at the heart of all they do, collaborating with some of the most distinguished designers and artists of the day (Quentin Blake, Nina Campbell, Matthew Williamson), as well doing any number of one-off bespoke designs for big international companies.

This spring they’ve launched a new collection inspired by the British love of Italy, starting with Venice and

FROM TOP: Wallpaper in Collioure, £72 per roll, curtain and upholstered chair in Beau Rivage, £60p/m, both Nina Campbell at Osborne & Little; Swans

by Osborne & Little; sofa upholstered in Russolo, £165 p/m and cushions covered in Medici, £99 p/m; Peter Osborne and Antony Little

moving onto the Italian Riviera. There’s a wonderful wallpaper featuring a panoramic view of a hillside covered in prettily painted houses, as well as some sensuously rich designs referencing Venice’s more exotic aesthetic heritage.

There’s also a British Isles damask wallpaper, inspired by a fabric originally commissioned by British Airways, featuring emblems from all four countries – a rose for England, thistle for Scotland, daffodil for Wales and flax for Northern Ireland.

It could just be that these deeply inventive designs are enough to inspire British householders to turn away from the austere minimalism that has swept the decorative world for the last few decades and go for something bolder, richer and – above all – different.

EARN YOUR STRIPES Everybody needs a striped Breton sweater and if you don’t already own one look no further than French label Saint James’ version. Naval top, £89. saint-james.com

SAY IT WITH WORDS I love Cassandra Goad’s collection of pendants, especially her 9kt yellow gold necklace pendant engraved with: ‘If you don’t explore you’ll never discover’ taken from Alice in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll (The Winning Quote from the National Poetry Day Competition 2017). £625. cassandragoad.com

EASY ADVENTURING Banbayu brings to your door the sort of products you might have bought had you made it to Papua New Guinea or Thailand. They’ve done the searching and the carrying for you. Besides some furniture and lighting there is also a small but interesting collection of artefacts and ornaments.

Check out the Dewi Sri stone statue of the Hindu deity Krishna from Indonesia that caught my eye. £189. banbayu.com

osborneandlittle.com

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4

DURABLE

FINISHES

NO. 79 RETRO JADE

NO.31 GULL'S WING

NO.81 ANTIQUE JADE

DISCOVER THE LANGUAGE OF COLOUR

NO.40 MOODY GREY

156 BEAUTIFUL COLOURS NO. 35 CONCRETE

CHAIRS UPHOLSTERED IN VARESE MARINE VELVET

AVAILABLE THROUGH LEADING STOCKISTS Contact us: tel +44 (0)20 7893 7400 info@designersguild.com Retail Stores: 267-277 King’s Road, London SW3 5EN, UK tel +44 (0)20 7351 5775 76 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 5JU tel +44 (0)20 3301 5826

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UP FRONT Poppy Jaime and her mother were photographed for Penelope Chilvers

FA S H I O N N E W S

STYLE NOTEBOOK

TA K E T H R E E

SUMMER TRENCH Simone Rocha, £850. yoox.com

It’s all about mothers this month

MOTHER LOVE

Shoe designer Penelope Chilvers’ latest photography project revolves around mothers and children. ‘A Family Affair’ is a series of inspiring women and their offspring wearing their favourite PC shoe, shot by Lily BertrandWebb. TV presenter Poppy Jamie chose the velvet lace-ups, saying, ‘I recently moved to NYC and I know I won’t be taking them off’. Maybe just when you go to bed, Poppy. penelopechilvers.com

Belstaff Venturer ‘Origins’, £625. belstaff.co.uk

TIGER MUMS

A cool collab for fitness fanatic yummy mummies everywhere. The Australian lifestyle brand We Are Handsome, best known for the punchy prints on its athleisure and swimwear, has designed fabric sets, sun canopies, footmuffs and a cabin bag for Dutch design brand Bugaboo, the buggies of which no self-respecting West London mum would be seen dead without. bugaboo.com Bugaboo Fox Breezy Sun Canopy by We Are Handsome, £94.95

MAKE LIKE MEGHAN

Zara £79.99. zara.com

BLUEBIRD FLIES TO COVENT GARDEN

This April, The Shop at Bluebird takes up its vast new West End residence on Floral Street.

The swanky space will be home to labels like Chloe, Temperley London, Ganni and Rixo, as well as a restaurant, brow bar and perfume gallery. theshopatbluebird.com

Aspinal of London Lottie micro, £295. aspinaloflondon.com

MICRO TREND Jil Sander Cotton poplin shirt. £390. net-a-porter.com

Victoria Beckham shirt, Victoria Beckham trousers, £425, Volon Metallic Alice bag £1,145, Robert Clergerie Tania sneakers, £385

Finlay & Co Percy Light, £120. finlayandco.com Max Mara Alacre coat, £2,045. matchesfashion.com

Victoria Beckham Pencil skirt, £550. mytheresa.com

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Furniture makers - Redefining bespoke

Chelsea · Notting Hill · Wiltshire

enq@mccarronandco.com

www.mccarronandco.com

HANDMADE IN ENGLAND

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INSPIRATIONAL FURNITURE LONDON | 555 Kings Road | Chelsea | London | SW6 2EB | 020 7610 6626 NEWCASTLE | 14 Clayton Road | Jesmond | Newcastle upon Tyne | NE2 4RP | 0191 257 6112

www.mowlemandco.com

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EXQUISITE BRIDAL SHOES & ACCESSORIES EXQUISITE BRIDAL SHOES & ACCESSORIES 74 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 6HH 74 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 6HH emmylondon.com 0207 704 0012 emmylondon.com 0207 704 0012

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The rock ‘n’ roll bride.

Hermione de Paula, hermionedepaula.com

MARRY ME? As Harry and Meghan’s big day approaches, ROSALYN WIKELEY perfects her wedding scrapbook

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UP FRONT

The Dress 2

3 4

1

5 Stylish bridesmaids.

Les HĂŠroĂŻnes, lesheroines.com

1 The elegant bride. Sassi Holford, sassiholford.com 2 Colourblocking bridesmaids.

Roksanda, matchesfashion.com

6 The romantic bride. Caroline Castigliano, caroline castigliano.com

5

7 The sophisticated bride. Catherine Walker & Co, catherinewalker.com

3 Slinky bridesmaids.

Ghost, ghost.co.uk 4 The graceful bride.

Phillipa Lepley, phillipalepley.com

8 The traditional bride (with a twist). Carolina Herrera, carolinaherrera.com

6 7

8

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The Hat 22

The Jewels

21 Classic.

Lock & Co Hatters, lockhatters.co.uk

9 The knuckle duster. Simon Wright, sw-jewellery.com

9

22 Pretty.

Merve Bayindir, mervebayindir.com

10 The golden girl.

Elizabeth Gage, elizabeth-gage.com

10

11 The triumvirate.

Mappin & Webb, mappinandwebb.com

21

12 The rock.

Asprey, asprey.com 13 The emerald city. William & Son, williamandson.com

11

20 Striking.

Katherine Elizabeth Millinery, katherineelizabeth hats.com

14 The decosparkler.

Harry Winston, harrywinston.com

20

The Flowers 12

18 Sayeh & Galton, sayehgaltonflowers.com 19 Shane Connolly, shaneconnolly.co.uk

13 14 19

The Shoes

18

15 Playful. Sophia Webster, sophiawebster.com

17

16 Classic. Emmy London, emmylondon.com 17 Chic. Jimmy Choo, jimmychoo.com

15

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UP FRONT Cornwell Manor, Oxfordshire

The Venue

Kew Gardens

TOWN Botanical. Kew Gardens, kew.org Grand. Home House, homehouse.co.uk

COUNTRY Charming Manor house. Cornwell Manor, Oxfordshire, cornwellmanor.com

Opulent. Café Royale, hotelcaferoyal.com

Jurassic Coast gem. The Axnoller, Dorset, axnoller.co.uk

Holkham Hall, Norfolk

Gaelic fairytale. Ashford Castle, Ireland, ashfordcastle.com

Classic. Claridge’s, claridges.co.uk

Sweeping stately home-on-sea.

Holkham Hall, Norfolk, holkham.co.uk

Historica. Ironmongers’ Hall, ironmongers.org

Highland reeling. Gordon Castle, Scotland, gordoncastle.co.uk

Claridge’s

Four Seasons Resort, Bora Bora

The Honeymoon MINIMOON

ADVENTURE

São Lourenço do Barrocal Hotel, Portugal.

Wine, riding and spa escape at a bucolic family-run estate in the heart of Alentejo. barrocal.pt

The Taj Lake Palace, India

Cheval Blanc by LVMH, Courchevel.

A long, lavish weekend of skiing and fine dining in Les Trois Vallées. chevalblanc.com Hotel Sacher, Vienna. A culturally plump weekend of opera, ballet and Austrian cake. travelforthearts.com Palazzetto Pisani, Venice. Magnificent 16thcentury pad of an Italian doge overlooking the grand canal. palazzettopisani.com Lime Wood, New Forest. Lazy breakfasts, spa and no airport in an elegant country setting. limewoodhotel.co.uk

Luxury Japan

Luxury Japan. A mix of Japanese classics with off-the-beaten-track, from the Geisha walk in Kyoto to hot spring bathing in Hakone. audleytravel.com Bhutan and the Andaman Islands.

Blending the mountains and mysteries of Bhutan with the golden beaches of the Andamans. scottdunn.com Helsinki to the Arctic Circle, Finland.

Dog sledding, trekking, the Northern Lights, snow mobiles and staying at the enchanting Tree House Hotel submerged in dense forest. theluxuryholidaycompany.com

Lime Wood, New Forest

Namibia in style. Dramatic landscapes and wildlife, from the desert-adapted elephants in Damaraland to the black rhinos on the of Etosha’s salt pan. coxandkings.co.uk

FLY AND FLOP Four Seasons resort, Bora Bora.

Private island paradise. fourseasons.com Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali. Built into limestone cliffs sweeping down to the ocean. alilahotels.com Milaidhoo Island Resort, The Maldives.

Barefoot luxury, encircled by its own coral reef. milaidhoo.com The Taj Lake Palace, India. Perched in the middle of Lake Pichola in Udaipur with a backdrop of the Aravalli mountains. tajlakepalace.grandluxuryhotels.com Amangiri, Utah. A remote hideaway in a dramatic desert landscape, Bond villain material. aman.com

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W h e re c a n w e ta k e y o u th is y e a r?

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A nice day for a...

White gold and diamond multi-strand necklace, bracelet and earrings, all De Beers. White top, 3.1 Phillip Lim

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...WHITE

WEDDING Why settle for old, blue and borrowed when it can be shiny and new?

Fashion Editor URSULA LAKE Photography MATTHEW SHAVE

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18kt white gold, diamond and South Sea cultured pearl drop earrings and necklace, both Adler.

BrocĂŠliande 18kt white gold, diamond and cultured pearl ring, Adler. White singlebreasted suit, PS Paul Smith

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18kt white gold and diamond feather ring and white gold and diamond ring, both Stephen Webster.

White hat, Missoni. White top, 3.1 Phillip Lim

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18kt white gold and diamond Knot design collar, earrings, bangle and bracelet, all Boodles. Platinum Three Row Ashoka cut diamond eternity ring, Boodles.White strap frill dress, Cushnie et Ochs

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Coup d’Eclat de Cartier white gold and diamond ring, Cartier. Reflection de Cartier white gold and diamond earrings, Cartier. White cut out detail top, Cushnie et Ochs

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Long pearl necklace with diamond clasp, white gold and pearl tassel earrings and white gold, diamond and pearl ring, all Garrard. White double-breasted blazer, The Fold

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Art Deco platinum and diamond tiara, Deco style emerald cut ring, Deco style asscher-cut diamond cluster ring and platinum baguette diamond set clip earrings, all Susannah Lovis.

White sheer body, Max Mara

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Ophidian 18kt white gold twist diamond ring, Ophidian 18kt white gold diamond bangle and Ophidian 18kt white gold diamond drop earrings, all Niquesa. White swimsuit, Marysia TEAM Makeup Artist: Jaimee Thomas using Charlotte Tilbury Hair Stylist: Peter Lux @ The Wall Group using Bumble & Bumble Manicurist: Cherrie Snow using CHANEL Le Vernis in Rouge Essentiel and La Creme Main Model: Maddy T at Premier STOCKISTS: 176

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UP FRONT

JEWELLERY

THE GOLD DIGGER

SPARKLING NEWS

The latest jewellery news and trends. By Annabel Davidson

Diamond, gold, tourmaline and tanzanite Tresor des Maoris earrings, POA, Adler

Diamond, gold and ceramic Rose des Vents bracelets, £1,300, Dior

JOIN THE TRIBE She’s already mastered the pinky ring, and now Lebanese architectcum-jeweller Dina Kamal has put her magical spin on the hoop earring. The DK01 Tribal Earring series are inspired by the traditional adornments of ancient tribes, and exquisitely rendered in gold and diamonds. doverstreetmarket.com

COME UP ROSES

Nothing says spring like bright colour, and Dior’s additions to its iconic Rose des Vents collection for spring/summer include pops of vibrancy to rival the season’s most colourful blooms. Using luminous lacquer in fuchsia-pink, leaf-green and mandarinorange, combined with white or rose gold, three new bracelets sporting the compass rose motif (itself inspired by the one inlaid in the garden of Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, Normandy), are made for layering together in a riot of colour. Also introduced are stud and drop earrings with gleaming pink opal, white mother of pearl and deep green malachite, all surrounded by gold and diamonds, long medallion necklaces, and a new open bracelet in twisted, rope-like gold, book-ended with two diamond, rose gold and opal compass roses. dior.com

THE BIG REVEAL

After months of creation in Geneva’s finest ateliers, Adler’s show-stopping pieces never fail to impress when they’re finally unveiled, and their new crop of designs are no exception. Take these Tresor des Maoris earrings set with tourmalines, tanzanites and diamonds in an ode to the blue waters of Polynesia – they’re blindingly beautiful. adler.ch

TA K E T H R E E

ALTERNATIVE WEDDING & ENGAGEMENT RINGS FIRST CLASS If you’ve lusted after David Morris’s whopping rocks from afar, this is its first foray into a standalone wedding collection – and it’s accessible too.

This exquisite ‘Elizabeth’ engagement ring costs £5,900. davidmorris.com

ALICE BAND Alice Made This started off with cufflinks, but her new bespoke wedding ring collection shows she has a way with jewellery too, designed in her typically pared-back style. alicemadethis.com

DRAMA QUEEN Garrard’s Fanfare collection takes inspiration from its original location in London’s historic theatre district – way back in 1735 – and this ring would make quite the statement piece for a bride with dramatic aspirations. garrard.com

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE There’s something so exquisitely simple about Georg Jensen’s new Offspring collection, designed by the extraordinary, multi-disciplined designer Jacqueline Rabun. Inspired by an egg and, in turn, the concept of mother and child, this humble gold ring is a masterclass in low-key elegance. georgjensen.com

TRUE BLUE If this diamond could talk, what tales it would tell… The ‘Farnese Blue’ diamond – a 6.16ct pear-shaped beauty from the historic Golconda mines in India – was given to the Queen of Spain in 1715, and passed down through four major European royal families over the last 300 years.

It’s now being offered for sale

by Sotheby’s in Geneva on 15 May and is bound to excite. sothebys.com

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PROMOTION

COOL SOPHISTICATION C&TH meets Eda Elbirlik, the woman behind Maviada, the British jewellery brand inspired by the Mediterranean

How did you start Maviada? Based in London, we launched our luxury jewellery brand in 2016 and, happily, the response has been wonderful. Our inspiration comes from telling a story about the colours and lifestyle of the Mediterranean and channelling that story into freshly designed, wearable, modern pieces.

What defines the brand?

Our collections are filled with fabulous coloured gemstones, baroque pearls, 18kt solid gold and 18kt vermeil gold pieces.

Our focus is on baroque pearls, set alongside cabochon stones, the combination of which is truly unique to our brand.

How do women wear jewellery today? I think once a woman gets to a certain place in her Eda Elbirlik life, she wants to own a proper piece of sophisticated jewellery that showcases beauty, style, design and craftsmanship. We have two collections geared toward a variety of women; firstly, a more affordable vermeil range and, secondly, a more luxurious solid gold collection.

Both have fantastically designed

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: St Tropez drop earrings; Bodrum drop earrings in 18kt yellow gold and green peridot; Sardinia diamond drop earrings in 18kt white gold, Swiss blue topaz; Cavallo Cascade Midi in 18kt yellow gold, London blue topaz, pink tourmaline, green peridot and pink baroque pearl

pieces and offer great versatility depending on the mood, budget and occasion.

Why do you think manmade stones are getting so much attention? Our 18kt Vermeil Collection, with our richly hued coloured gemstones, is entirely handmade which we think is a very good ethical choice to save our environment. Not to be confused with faux stones, these gems have all the gemological properties of mined stones, but none of the ethical and environmental implications.

What should every women should have in their jewellery box? We were recently featured in the Telegraph’s In my Jewellery Box and I had to choose my favourite pieces.

Everything I chose had a significant personal memory or attachment, whether it reminded me of a gift from my parents, my wedding, a present from my husband or buying myself a special treat. Women are now treating themselves with self-purchases and we think that is fantastic. You should have whatever you want in your jewellery box, just wear it and enjoy it. +44 (0)20 7736 7438; maviada.co.uk

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Coffee cups, Royal Doulton Olio, from £10.

Copper cafetière, Kitchen Craft, £46. Marble pastry board, Marbletree, £35

GIFTS GALORE Calling all couples. If you want a wedding list to wow, look no further than The Wedding Present Co.

T

he Wedding Present Co., that some may fondly remember as Wedding Presents Direct, has been crafting wedding lists and minimising ‘wedmin’ for over 24 years. This boutique service is a personalised way to navigate wedding present possibilities from big name brands and bespoke artisans alike.

The Wedding Present Co. refreshes the tradition of a wedding list with a modern understanding of couples’ individual tastes.

Every couple is assigned a dedicated wedding list advisor who gets to know you and your tastes, and walks you through the range, guiding you through the process of creating your wedding list.

Ceramic Plates, Nkuku ‘Dakara’, from £59.70

Personalised chopping boards, Oak & Rope, from £45

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PROMOTION

The Wedding Present Co. is dedicated to its individual approach and the personal service is completely free. The entire showroom can be booked by private appointment, allowing you to relish your wedding excitement as opposed to battling it out on the floor of a department store, all with complimentary ice-cold champagne or beer in hand.

The Wedding Present Co. has flexible booking hours; appointments are available on weekday evenings, from 6-8pm, and at weekends, from 10am-4pm. If you’re a couple that leans toward sprawling on a sofa with cappuccinos, then pore over The Wedding Present Co.’s brochures showcasing its 300 suppliers and designers from the comfort of the showroom’s library. If you want to get stuck in, explore the showroom’s mini-home, where gifts are arranged by room over two

Large Leather Hippo, Omersa, £401

Glass candlesticks, various brands, from £57

storeys, making it possible for you to visualise how you might use Lampshade, Pooky them in your own home.

‘Straight Empire in Yellikat’, 50cm, £105 The Wedding Present Co. can also source or commission more personal ideas, such as a piece of antique silver or an original painting. Nothing is too much to ask.

As soon as you register, your wedding list advisor will set up your online account.

As a couple, you can share this, adding or removing choices from your list whenever inspiration strikes, as well as keeping track of presents that your guests are buying and what’s ready to be delivered Lampbase, Pooky ‘Saba’ to you – a recent website redesign makes in olive, £175 this easy to do from any device.

The Wedding Present Co. offers ultimate flexibility throughout the process and afterwards, too: all UK delivery is free, and you will receive nine months of complimentary present storage after your wedding should you need it.

Stepping out of wedding chaos and into The Wedding Present Co. showroom will remind you of the little – and the large – things that you have to look forward to.

London showroom

Book your personal appointment today in the London showroom to meet your dedicated wedding list advisor, or browse the online showroom. 020 7622 6300; showroom@ weddingpresentco.com; weddingpresentco.com

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UP FRONT BEAUT Y

MY BEAUTIFUL LIFE Dr Maryam Zamani, founder of MZ Skin, shares her beauty secrets with Nathalie Eleni

What is your morning skin routine? The morning is busy so I need to keep it simple and quick. I wash my face with my Cleanse & Clarify, followed by Brighten & Perfect.

I also use a tinted moisturiser with SPF. How do you fake eight hours’ sleep? Before showering, twice weekly, I use the MZ Skin Radiance & Renewal mask for 15 minutes before bed to refresh my skin.

How do you keep fit? Every evening I go to KX Health Club to do 45 minutes of strolling on the elliptical. I also do pilates twice a week to keep me limber and flexible.

How do you relax? By cuddling my children.

On Sunday evenings we all have a massage ritual – my children and husband too!

What perfume do you wear? Red by Dolce & Gabbana.

It’s been discontinued sadly, but I have bought in bulk to last me another three years I hope.

Hero make-up product? Tom Ford bronzer.

What is you biggest beauty blunder?

I have thick eyebrows and I went to a threader I don’t normally use and she took off the lateral part of my brow – it was a disaster!

Best beauty secret for anti ageing? Retinol and sunscreen (Sheer Physical Protection SPF 50 by Neostrata). I also strongly believe it’s lifestyle: eat well, live well, feel well and look well. drmaryamzamani.com

FIVE OF THE BEST

FACIAL OILS Treat your skin to a luxurious layering

1 CAUDALIE PREMIER CRU PRECIOUS OIL Deeply hydrating this melts into the skin practically dissolving fine dehydration lines as it goes. A must for those after a serious anti-ageing treat. £52. spacenk.com

ME TIME

Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial, SW3 ‘You’re never too old to become younger,’ says Intraceuticals ambassador Gavin Mcleod. Well, that’s a relief. The Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial at the Dr Rita Rakus Clinic in Knightsbridge has been a huge hit in Hollywood and is a game – and skin – changer as far as facials go. The high-tech oxygen machine helps deliver age-defying ingredients to the skin for instant and impressive radiance-boosting effects. Layers of hyaluronic acid are infused into the skin making it a perfect treat ahead of a special event or for improving hydration levels dramatically on jet lagged skin.

From £300. drritarakus.com

2 VALMONT L’ELIXIR DES GLACIERS CURE MAJESTUEUSE VOTRE VISAGE Delivering the performance of a powerful serum with the luxuriance of a golden oil, it’s packed with restorative omegas and potent antioxidants too. £242. harrods.com 3 ELEQURA COMPLETE REPLENISHING FACE OIL Essential fatty acids help to smooth, brighten and even skin tone without leaving a greasy residue on your skin. £46. elequra.com 4 ELEMIS ‘SUPERFOOD’ FACIAL OIL A super concentrated mix of nourishing, plant-based superfoods feed the skin with anti-oxidants and omegas for a healthy, radiant glow. £45. elemis.com 5 HEAVEN SKINCARE DREAM OIL Perfect for people with eczema or sensitive skin as the microbes in the oil kill bacteria and return balance. £28. heavenskincare.com

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Asian Scenic wallpaper. Cushions in Asian Scenic, Bijou, Carlotta.

Baxter Bench in Ming Trail.

Dynasty Collection: Wallpaper, Print and Woven Fabrics www.thibautdesign.com tel: 020 7737 6555

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UP FRONT

WELLNESS

A RECIPE FOR WELLNESS

BODY & SOUL

Vegetarian Spiced Chickpea Scotch Egg SERVES FOUR INGREDIENTS » 5 Clarence Court eggs » 400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed » 2 spring onions » 2 tbsp tahini » ½ tsp cumin » ½ tsp salt » 2 tbsp flour » 50g breadcrumbs » 2 tbsp sesame seeds » 1 tbsp olive oil

Sustainable weightloss is achievable.

By Camilla Hewitt

METHOD Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 5. Soft boil four eggs (five minutes should do it for a runny yolk) then plunge into ice cold water. Once cool, peel the shells off. In a food processor blend the chickpeas, spring onion, tahini, cumin, and salt together. Dust the egg with flour then wrap ¼ of the chickpea mixture around the egg.

Dust again with flour, brush with egg white then roll in breadcrumbs and sesame seeds.

Repeat for the remaining three eggs. Brush with the olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 10 minutes.

LOSING IT Weight loss expert Louise Parker explains how you can have lasting success

Before you make any lifestyle changes, whether for weight loss or simply feeling better, ask yourself: will I be doing 80 per cent of this in five years’ time? And would I want my teenage daughter to do this? If either answer is no, then re-think. ‘My Method’ provides the fundamentals for sustainable changes that make you feel amazing – and quickly.

Ten years ago, the focus was diet and exercise.

Now we have to add sleep, stress, digital detox and mental health. If long-term health is your goal then giving yourself time to relax, rest and recharge is as important as food and exercise. It’s why we focus on four pillars (Eat Beautifully, Work Out Intelligently, Think Successfully and Live Well) to ensure we cover all bases. louiseparker.com

ESCAPE THE COUNTRY

HEALTH HOT LIST

BEE POLLEN One of nature’s most nourishing foods

THE YEAR OF LIVING DANISHLY Author Helen Russell uncovers the secrets of the world’s happiest country. £8.99, Icon Books

COURAGE & SPICE An inspiring podcast for those with self-doubt

ESCAPE THE CITY PERFECT POSTURE Sitting up straight helps you feel happier

The Body Camp, Ibiza Join the team for a week-long retreat in the beautiful surroundings of Ibiza.

This full-on programme of hilltop hikes, superfood shakes and lifecoaching has been created to help you reach your personal health and fitness goals. thebodycamp.com

Barnsley Spa & Skincare Centre Hide away from the world at Barnsley House’s resplendent spa in the heart of the Cotswolds. A half-day spa package includes use of the facilities, a 55-minute treatment and a two-course lunch in The Potager Restaurant. £120. barnsleyhouse.com

PIXI BEAUTY Fuss-free, flawfixing products

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skinade.com

Beautiful skin from the inside We all know the importance of looking after our skin on the outside. To achieve your perfect complexion, you must also support your skin from within.

Discover skinade™ – the skincare drink that nourishes the skin from the inside for beautiful skin on the outside.

Available from skincare professionals only.

To find a stockist go to skinade.com To become a stockist, please call us on 08451 300 205 or email info@skinade.co.uk

MADE IN THE UK

100450_BSA_skinade-Country&House_01.indd 2 Skinade.indd 1

NO 1 PROFESSIONAL SKINCARE DRINK IN THE UK

29/11/2016 15:56 29/03/2018 11:13

UP FRONT

MEN’S STYLE

WELL GROOMED

ISLAND MADE John Smedley’s famed knits are conceived and made in England, from initial design concept to first stitch and over 50 expert craftspeople work on every piece. His sea island cotton lightweight pieces are perfect summer wardrobe staples. Wembury in sea island black cotton, £145. johnsmedley.com

Style is a journey, says Matt Thomas

CAN’T GET ENOUGH

There are only 55 of this novelty collector’s series from Hublot – one for every single released by New Wave icons Depeche Mode with a partial reveal of each record’s cover artwork on the dial. As if that wasn’t enough, each model also comes with a Roland JP-08 synthesiser in a specially made Rimowa suitcase.

Big Bang Depeche Mode ‘The Singles’ Edition, £26,000. hublot.com TIGER TIGER Adding movement into its products, Tateossian offers a playful range of animal cufflinks, each pair with a mechanised part.

These tigers’ ears wiggle back and forth! £195. tateossian.com

SWIMMER’S HEAVEN

The approach of warmer weather and holiday season means digging out those swim shorts.

But why not invest in a fun new pair like Stella McCartney’s Paradise ones? £265. harrods.com

TIMELESS TOTE

The Gladstone London range fuses contemporary aesthetics and functionality with the lost designs and craftsmanship of the 1920s with all products handcrafted in a small Italian factory near Lake Como. G21 leather tote, £1,050. gladstonelondon.com

LOOK THE BUSINESS Turnbull & Asser has launched the Journey Collection, a range of luxury business shirts in four varieties – all easy care and crafted with the onthe-go gentleman in mind. £195. turnbullandasser.co.uk

CUTTING EDGE AONO (Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned) is the brainchild of Brighton barber Paul Hewitt. It comprises an eponymous street style label plus barber shops offering exceptional and timeless cuts. Check them out in the Project 109 menswear space at harveynichols.com.

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www.yiangou.com 01285 888 150

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The defining feature of this contemporary pool house is the ceiling; a curving structure, finished in polished Venetian plaster that gives an ethereal quality and the impression the roof is floating above the dark, naturalistic pool.

21/03/2018 16:19

UP FRONT

STYLE

’TIS THE SEASON We get some sage sartorial advice from the experts on dressing for The Season FROM TOP: Qatar Goodwood Festival; New & Lingwood Paterson textured check jacket

ALL ABOUT ACCESSORIES SHIRT Ice blue superior cotton, £290. emmawillis.com

PANAMA Traditional folder, £95. oliver brown.org.uk POCKET SQUARE Blue/gold Swimmer printed cotton, £60. drakes.com

C

ompiling a wardrobe fit for The Season’s roster of sporting and social events is both a science and an art, so we have enlisted the ‘well-seasoned’ wisdom of New & Lingwood’s Carolyn Springett and Simon Maloney to help us.

GOODWOOD FESTIVAL... Dressing for Goodwood is a precarious balancing act of both ‘elegant’ and ‘relaxed’. While a jacket and tie are de rigueur in the Richmond Enclosure, an overly formal outfit is a faux pas. Timeless appeal and a sense of style is paramount. New & Lingwood’s Edmonton linen suit is an exact facsimile of those worn for the Grand Tour by gentlemen travellers in the 1920s and 30s. Team with a crisp white shirt, a navy and burgundy boating stripe tie and sunglasses for ultimate automobile bravado.

SUMMER WEDDINGS... In warm weather, it is best to go for lightweight fabrics that breathe – there are limits to a wedding photographer’s

editing skills. Choose high-twist, tropical wools, sea cottons or linens, that are made to keep you cool.

Be it classic navy or cooler shades, a shirt in white, pale blue, ivory or pink will set it off to perfection.

HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA... Traditionally, the vibrant, classic striped regatta blazer was designed to help spectators identify individual teams. This season, New & Lingwood has introduced two new traditional boating stripe jackets – the Edward and Rannoch. Pair one of them with cream Edmonton trousers for a balmy afternoon on the Thames.

GARDEN PARTY... Lighter colours, tropical prints and bold hues work well. New & Lingwood’s Paterson jacket in lime and burgundy, finished with a colourful floral lining and paired with the Blond tartan trousers will bring a yesteryear elegance to any garden party.

SOCKS Curious orange, £12. londonsock company.com

CUFFLINKS Sterling silver, £220. deakin andfrancis.co.uk

LOAFERS Crawford, £545. crockettandjones.com

SUNGLASSES Made in England, £425. kirkoriginals.com

newandlingwood.com

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PROMOTION

BRITISH BRIDAL COUTURE

Caroline Castigliano, bespoke wedding dress designer, wants brides to feel their most confident when walking down the aisle

F

inding the perfect dress is a task of tremendous importance to any newly engaged bride. Therefore, who you choose to design it is also a significant decision.

Caroline Castigliano has been realising brides’ dreams for 27 years and cares about your dress as much (if not, more than) you do, making her opulent Knightsbridge store the ultimate bridal destination, and bridesto-be fly in from all over the world to enlist the services of Caroline.

Everything about a Castigliano gown is bespoke, from the signature hidden corset that has made Caroline famous over the years which defines and balances your figure to perfection, to the exquisite detailing and craftsmanship. Every gown is truly unique to the wearer and is handcrafted here in the UK. When visiting Caroline Castigliano, one of her expertly trained team will guide you through the collection so you fully understand the signature style and see the effortlessly understated glamour of each gown. Each fabric is carefully chosen and the beading and trims are designed to complement the dress.

Once you have made your decision you will meet the head of fittings who takes a set of full-body measurements and the journey of lovingly creating your gown begins.

Brides place enormous trust in those that produce their wedding gown – an item that is immortalised in photographs and memories – so entrust this task with the best in the business. With Caroline Castigliano you are in safe hands.

Caroline Castigliano 154 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1HX; 020 7590 9120; carolinecastigliano.com

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UP FRONT Erin O’Connor Whitney Hawkings and Michelle Kennedy

A VERY BIRITSH AFFAIR

Emilia Wickstead and Charlotte Olympia

Tamara Beckwith

Olivia Inge

Ahead of Mother’s Day, a flock of mothers and daughters descended upon Balthazar, Covent Garden to sample their new afternoon tea collaboration with FLOWERBX, the online flower delivery service. Founder of FLOWERBX, Whitney Hawkings, created a floral adornment for Balthazar’s entrance for the occassion, which was attended

by Emilia Wickstead and Charlotte Olympia. Guests sampled flowerthemed cakes now available at Balthazar.

Stephanie Phair and Bodil Blain

Whitney Hawkings and Lucy Yeomans

Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster

SOCIAL SCENE

HIGH SOCIETY People, parties, places Jacqui Ritchie

Kristen McMenamy Emi Suzuki

Sophie Goodwin, Nicky Yates, and Ellie Pithers

FLORAL FITNESS

Caroline Sieber and Lauren Santo Domingo

Emilia Wickstead and James Duigan

Veronika Heilbrunner

FASHIONABLE COSMETICS

Laura Carmichael and Erdem Moralioglu

Emma Elwick-Bates and Matt Bates

There was much to celebrate at The National Portrait Gallery following Erdem’s A/W’18 runway show – the unveiling of a collaboration between the fashion designer and Nars Cosmetics. HAIM, Laura Carmichael and Emi Suzuki were in attendence, many of them donning Erdem in homage to the great designer.

British-based designer Emilia Wickstead has joined forces with Bodyism, the gym and wellness brand, to produce a 12-piece collection of floral active wear.

Guests celebrated the collaboration at healthy eatery Granger & Co, where Bodyism trainers were on hand to demonstrate their routines on an Emilia Wickstead yoga mat.

Doina Ciobanu

Whitney Hawkings

Tori Cook, Stacey Duguid and Laura Bailey

Erin O’Connor

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We believe in a different perspective.

We see an oak bench. They see a rope bridge.

Our Arundel dining table and bench. Made from nothing but North American oak. Designed to last a lifetime. neptune.com/adifferentperspective

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26/02/2018 10:27:11 21/03/2018 11:41

Hear the latest ideas in the arts, sciences and current affairs, and enjoy music, comedy and entertainment for all ages. @hayfestival

@hayfestival

24 MAY – 3 JUNE 2018

/hayfestival

#HayFestival2018

HAY-ON-WYE, WALES

book tickets at hayfestival.org or call 01497 822 629 Hay Festival.indd 1

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C&TH

THE GU IDE A R T · C U LT U R E · B O O K S · P E O P L E

PHOTO: © MARK SHAW / MPTVIMAGES.COM

JFK AT HOME Fifty-five years after President Kennedy’s assassination, Proud Central is exhibiting photographs taken

by Mark Shaw of the Kennedy family. A selection of the unofficial photographer’s pictures, including JFK’s favourite portrait of himself, and touching family moments, will be on display. Until 6 May. proud.co.uk

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THE GUIDE

EVENTS

COUNTRY LIFE See you at the Hay Festival!

SEASON

EQUINE EXHIBITIONISM

The Royal Windsor Horse Show promises exciting international competitions in four disciplines at what is the UK’s largest outdoor horse show. Show jumping, dressage, driving and endurance events, held in the private grounds of Windsor Castle, will be attended by competitors from all over the globe.

9-13 May. rwhs.co.uk Laugh and cry at Chichester Festival Theatre

T H E AT R E

LAUGH AND CRY

Fun for all the family at The Royal Windsor Horse Show

Noël Coward’s portrayal of a midlife crisis is both amusing and tragic.

In Present Laughter, performed at Chicester Festival Theatre, a successful actor juggles unrequited lust, an obsessed playwright, his longsuffering secretary and his estranged wife. With so many people to please and unsatisfied by his career thus far, it’s no wonder he’s exasperated.

20 April to 12 May. cft.org.uk

Ed Vaizey

ART

Set in the impressive Capability Brown grounds of Petworth House in Sussex, the Petworth Park Antiques and Fine Art Fair returns for its fourth year. Forty-eight exhibitors will come to display their wares. Look out for newcomer Millington Adams, a dealer in period British furniture and English clocks. 11-13 May. petworthparkfair.com

F E S T I VA L

LITERARY LOVERS

Bird Ark by Anna Pugh, 2017

Head to Wales to join the literati at Hay Festival 2018, where highlights include Margaret Attwood on The Handmaid’s Tale and Rowan Williams on the concept of consciousness.

On Sunday 27 May, C&TH will be hosting a debate on the business of creativity chaired by former Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey. Book now! 24 May to 3 June. hayfestival.com

PHOTOS: LUCY B CAMPBELL GALLERY; ALEXANDRA DAO

HIDDEN TREASURE

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designworks!

Something

Is Happening At FOUR SEASONS

Q U I N TA D O L A G O

Four Seasons Fairways, one of the Algarve's most prestigious villa resorts, will open its NEW Clubhouse in May following a â‚Ź2m refurbishment!

The brand-new Clubhouse will feature a glass walled wine cellar, indoor-outdoor bar with an outdoor BBQ cooking station, two heated swimming pools and a spectacular 'Upside Down World' Kids Club. It will also be home to Amara, a new intimate restaurant serving contemporary cuisine with a Portuguese influence and Vivo bistro and lounge bar.

Four Seasons Fairways is also set to complete another phase of an extensive villa renovation programme in May. The refurbished villas showcase imaginative design, blending Portuguese style with beautiful landscaped gardens and vista rich terraces, with each property boasting a swimming pool or Jacuzzi and self-contained BBQ station.

To find out more visit www.fourseasonsfairways.com

FairwaysDirect.com Official Resale & Rental Representatives

Four Seasons Fairways | Algarve | Quinta do Lago | Portugal Tel: +351 289 357 667 | reservations@fairwaysdirect.com | www.fourseasonsfairways.com

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THE GUIDE

EVENTS

TOWN LIFE Fashion, fishing and fighting

ART

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Themes of globalisation, colonialism and capitalism are explored in Lorenzo Vitturi’s new series Money Must be Made. Inspiration for the works came from the juxtaposition of a thriving local market with the breakdown of global corporations that he saw in Lagos, Nigeria.

11 May to 30 June. flowersgallery.com

Following his death last year, Alaïa’s works are explored at the Design Museum

FA S H I O N

CELEBRATING AN ICON Before his death last year, Azzedine Alaïa worked with the Design Museum to curate an exhibition of his works called The Couturier. Stories from his life are told through over 60 garments that give an insight to the designer, who very much danced to the beat of his own drum. 10 May to 7 October. designmuseum.org Lorenzo Vitturi, from the series ‘Money Must Be Made’, 2017

CHARITY

Casting for Recovery offers weekend retreats for those recovering from breast cancer to learn how to fly-fish.

A floral-themed cocktail party is being held at the Chelsea Gardener to raise funds for this inspiring cause that offers the weekends (including fishing and access to top-notch doctors) free of charge. 23 May. castingforrecovery.org.uk

COLLABORATION

TRENDY POTTERY

An exhibition of artist Venetia Berry’s works will be on show at cult concept store Modern Society. As well as unveiling a range of ceramics, Berry’s work will be on display at the boutique and she will host a one-off ceramic-painting class on 13 May for those wanting to turn their hand to the craft. Until 30 May. themodernsociety.com

EXHIBITION

PAINTING WAR

Clone by Venetia Berry

Known for his illustrations for Fortnum & Mason and the London Underground, Edward Bawden’s works will be shown in the most wideranging exhibition since his death at Dulwich Picture Gallery. His works of fine art, which have largely been forgotten, will be on display including 18 scarcely seen war portraits and his early paintings of the everyday. 23 May to 9 September. dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

PHOTOS: © LORENZO VITTURI, COURTESY OF FLOWERS GALLERY

TIGHT LINES

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PROMOTION

CRETAN ROYALTY This spring Crete welcomes Nana Princess, the ultimate getaway for the discerning traveller

T

hose who have already succumbed to the celestial charms of the Greek islands will be familiar with the magical tapestry of beaches that make up Crete. On 4 May the island will celebrate the opening of the muchanticipated Nana Princess, a new sumptuous five-star destination for adult guests and families alike hankering after a slice of paradise and some Greek hedonism.

The Nana Princess, in the north of the island, boasts suites with private pools, three exceptional restaurants curated by a Michelin-starred chef and a state-of-the-art health club and spa. Unrivalled levels of beauty and hospitality reign supreme amid the resort’s fresh, decadent aesthetics, all set across over 40,000m2 of scenic beaches and five-star amenities.

A plethora of airy suites and villas (112 to be exact) mean there is something for everyone. From the waterfront, Aqua Marine Suite with its own heated outdoor whirlpool and gym (the ultimate private retreat for couples), to the Presidential Villa, comprising two floors and three double bedrooms, a SweetSauna cabin and ‘added extras’ such as private chefs and butler services on demand. Those angling for utter indulgence need look no further than the vast Grand Royal Villa, sleeping up to six adults and one child with three double bedrooms, its own private pool and chill out area, complete with a home cinema,

billiards table, and 1950s juke box.

The island is teeming with activities.

The adventure-inclined can explore the local area by horse-back or the water by paddle board, while those simply looking to recharge and regroup can relax along the stunning stretch of beach lining the hotel-front.

After a day of soaking up all that Crete has to offer, the hotel’s five-star amenities and celestial white beaches, guests can tuck into one of the hotel’s three restaurants, choosing from delectable local dishes to more international options –from fresh fish and sushi to meat and pasta. Wine aficionados are well-catered for, with an award-winning sommelier on hand to assist with pairing.

The golden goose of this hotel is the hotel’s health club and spa, with an unparalleled wellness experience. Guests can enjoy a hammam and steam before indulging in rejuvenating spa treatments, such as an O2 For You facial, reinforcing cellular oxygenation, or a King Olive Massage, using Cretan olive oil.

With the hotel’s above-and-beyond service, along with every aspect of their strive-for-excellence mission statement, guests are promised the ultimate VIP experience, placing Nana Princess as a firm favourite on the luxury map for years to come.

BOOK IT: From approx. £137pp in a superior room. nanaprincess.gr; +30 28970 26900

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ARTS

ARTS AGENDA Paintbrushes and the classic canvas are the materials of the moment, says Caiti Grove

Sir Cedric Morris, May Flowering Irises No.2 (1935)

2

Büttner: Plenty of 1 Werner Room for All Sorts of Happiness Marlborough Fine Art, W1

Macabre, comical and strange, Werner Büttner’s paintings resemble a lucid dream after too much absinthe. His sense of humour is caustic, dry and gruesome – and it shows in these darkly hilarious paintings.

25 May to 23 June. marlboroughlondon.com

Morris: 2Cedric Artist Plantsman

FIVE M I N UTE S WITH

STEPHANIE SCHLEIFFER

The Garden Museum, SE1 and Phillip Mould & Company, SW1

Director of Marlborough Fine Art

Friend of the Nicholsons, and teacher to Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling, Cedric Morris is often overlooked. He painted portraits, still life and landscapes, but it is his flower paintings where he combined Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism that proved his mettle as an innovator and artistic trailblazer. 18 April to 22 July; gardenmuseum.org.uk. philipmould.com

3Surface Work

Victoria Miro, N1 & W1

The art world has often been dominated by men. Victoria Miro is setting out to prove that, despite the bias, women are central to abstract art. This exhibition, over two galleries, will celebrate our greatest – female – artistic minds. Vive la révolution!

11 April to 19 May (N1) & 16 June (W1). victoria-miro.com

3

Liubov Popova, Non-Objective Composition, (c.1920)

This is Werner Büttner’s second show in London. This time we’re having his work from the 80s downstairs and his recent work from the last two years on the first floor.

He is much better known on the Continent so we might include things to contextualise him for a British audience – his albums, posters and photos of his happenings.

His 80s works are still current and they haven’t lost their immediacy. His palette is possibly brighter and lighter now, and the brush strokes are more fluid, but they all have the same amazing drive and attitude.

Spending time with such art is an honour. Being a part of making history is something I can tell my grandchildren one day.

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND CAMERA OSCURA GALERIA DE ARTE, MADRID; COURTESY OFFICINE DELL’IMMAGINE; © JOHN COPELAND, COURTESY NEWPORT STREET GALLERY; ©ROH, 2016.PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANDREJ USPENSKI; ©RAHI REZVANI 2017; BRIAN SLATER

Werner Büttner, Plenty of Room for All Sorts of Happiness (2017)

PHOTOS: © WERNER BÜTTNER, COURTESY MARLBOROUGH FINE ART; © PHILIP MOULD & COMPANY, COURTESY THE CEDRIC MORRIS ESTATE; COURTESY ANNELY JUDA FINE ART

1

THE GUIDE

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

FIVE O F TH E B E ST

Reviews, previews and performances

DANCES

R E VI E W

JOHN COPELAND: YOUR HEAVEN LOOKS JUST LIKE MY HELL Newport Street Gallery, SE11

PR E VI E W

PHOTO LONDON 2018

Famous for spot paintings and sharks in formaldehyde, Damien Hirst is now also a curator and generous champion of art.

The huge £25m gallery he has sponsored feels like a Tate outpost – expansive, free and airy. The current exhibition showcases John Copeland’s huge canvases of joyful families dining and women in lingerie.

Gloopy and tactile with acrylic and oil paint, they are equally exuberant and thoughtful, open and ambiguous. Three cheers to Hirst.

Until 28 May. newportstreetgallery.com

Somerset House, WC2

The range and depth of this exhibition would dazzle even the most well-informed camera buff.

Photo London’s fourth sortie into the bright sunlight outside the darkened studios of dozens of galleries is far from short on choice. Olivier Castaing’s School Gallery in Paris will present an installation of May ‘68, while Hans P Kraus Jr from New York will curate a retrospective on the English founder of photography William Henry Fox Talbot. From artists of the past rarely seen, like Roman Road’s presentation of Jerzy Lewczyński, to the Louise Alexander Gallery’s series of Guy Bourdin’s surrealistic polaroids, this is a show to camp out at rather than merely attend. 17–20 May. photolondon.org

LIFE IS A DREAM

BY RAMBERT Danish choreographer Kim Brandstrup adapts a 17th-century Spanish revenge tragedy. Music

by Lutoslawski, with full symphony orchestra, brings harmonic reconciliation to the revenge motif.

22–26 May. sadlerswells.com ELIZABETH

BY THE ROYAL BALLET Two dancers and two women narrators use music and verse from the Elizabethan court to evoke the strange world of the famous Tudor queen. 16–19 May. barbican.org.uk

Kyle Weeks, Vapwakuapi Thorn (2014)

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND CAMERA OSCURA GALERIA DE ARTE, MADRID; COURTESY OFFICINE DELL’IMMAGINE; © JOHN COPELAND, COURTESY NEWPORT STREET GALLERY; ©ROH, 2016.PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANDREJ USPENSKI; ©RAHI REZVANI 2017; BRIAN SLATER

PHOTOS: © WERNER BÜTTNER, COURTESY MARLBOROUGH FINE ART; © PHILIP MOULD & COMPANY, COURTESY THE CEDRIC MORRIS ESTATE; COURTESY ANNELY JUDA FINE ART

Elina Brotherus, Flux Harpsichord Concert (2017)

UGLY DUCKLING BY NORTHERN BALLET A lonely duck with no friends – time to go on a journey of self-discovery akin to Hans Christian Andersen’s original.

40 minutes of fun for kids. Tours 9 May to 22 June. northernballet.com

MIXED PROGRAMME

BY PHOENIX DANCE THEATRE As part of this triple bill, Windrush illustrates the joyful energy and savage discrimination that met the 1948 Jamaican immigrants in a white-only Britain. Tours London, 26-28 April, and nationally, 4–10 May. phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk

GRAND FINALE BY HOFESH SHECHTER COMPANY Hofesh Shechter is to descend on theatres with 10 dancers, six musicians and endless vibrant energy with a contemporary new work full of verve, comedy and violence.

Tours 26 April to 7 July. hofesh.co.uk John Copeland, Transmission (Imaginary Rules) (2017)

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THE GUIDE THE ONLY STORY Julian Barnes

BOOKS

GOOD READS Richard Hopton reviews four novels by prize-winning authors

HAPPINESS Aminatta Forna

Happiness is a richly variegated and enjoyable novel.

On one level it is about London and the extraordinary variety and contradictions of the city. Aminatta Forna brings to life the polyglot cultures which thrive cheek by jowl in London and takes us into surprising corners of the city, not least the nocturnal world of the urban fox.

Both the principal protagonists are sympathetic characters who have become, for different reasons, cut off from their roots. Jean, an American naturalist who studies urban wildlife, is forging a new life in London following her divorce. Attila is a Ghanaian psychiatrist who has spent many years travelling the world, flitting from one disaster zone to another, helping the survivors come to terms with their experiences. He is a citizen of everywhere and nowhere; he feels comfortable in many places but at home in none of them. Both have lived lives in which work has taken priority over family. It cost Jean her marriage and turned Attila’s wife into a grass widow, destined to die alone.

From the moment Attila and Jean bump into each other on Waterloo Bridge, their lives – and those of many other, disparate characters – become ineluctably entwined. Forna, whose novel The Memory of Love won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, writes understated, gliding, keenly observed prose. Her description of a care home’s smell as ‘sweet, stale air and nickel taint of medicine’ is perfect.

The novel, as the title suggests, is also about happiness.

It is a hymn to the adaptability of the human spirit: many of the characters in the book have made new lives for themselves in London, far from home. This message is mirrored in the way in which foxes and coyotes have adapted so successfully to life in an urban environment.

Change, even upheaval, can be a good thing; life is not, and cannot be, composed entirely of the bland and the harmless. As Attila muses to himself at one point, ‘Was there no human experience that did not merit treatment now?’ Bloomsbury, £16.99

Julian Barnes’ latest novel is a thoroughly rewarding book – a compassionate, touching and funny account of a lengthy relationship between a young man, Paul, and a much older, married woman.

Late in life, Paul reconstructs the story from memory, at the mercy of the tricks, gaps and elisions of time. As the story progresses, the tone darkens as Paul’s youthful optimism evaporates. It is a novel about love, alcoholism, loss, disintegration, memory and the passage of time. A profound book, it compels one to think about one’s own life.

Jonathan Cape, £16.99

TURNING FOR HOME Barney Norris

This is Barney Norris’s second novel; his first, Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain, won a Betty Trask award. Turning for Home, set over one weekend in a rambling house in the English countryside, is a moving and subtle portrait of Kate, a damaged, vulnerable, anorexic young woman, and her grandfather, Robert.

As the weekend progresses and the rest of the family arrive to celebrate his 80th birthday, Kate’s story and Robert’s career in British intelligence in Northern Ireland reveal themselves. This is an entertaining and clever novel about family, love and loyalty. Doubleday, £14.99

TERRITORY OF LIGHT

Yuko Tsushima (trans. by Geraldine Harcourt) Yuko Tsushima, who died in 2016, was a much-garlanded Japanese writer whose novel tells the story of a young woman recently separated from her husband and infant daughter. The novel has an allusive, elliptical feel – perhaps the result of the fact that its 12 chapters were published serially over the course of a year in the late 1970s.

Set in Tokyo, it charts the young woman’s struggles with the demands of divorce, work and parenthood.

Dreams play an important part in the novel, contrasting the young woman’s ‘inner’ life to her everyday, ‘outer’ existence. Penguin, £9.99

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N

EW

ORIGINAL, LIMITED-EDITION ART DECO POSTERS

Limited to editions of 280, our newly-commissioned Art Deco posters feature glamorous holiday destinations around the world, ski resorts in the Austrian, French and Swiss Alps, and the world’s greatest historic automobiles. Over 100 designs to choose from, all printed on 100% cotton fine art paper, measuring 97 x 65 cms.

Priced at £395 each.

Private commissions are also welcome.

Pullman Editions Ltd 94 Pimlico Road Chelsea London SW1W 8PL www.pullmaneditions.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7730 0547 Email: georgina@pullmaneditions.com

Our central London gallery

All images and text copyright © Pullman Editions Ltd. 2018

View and buy online at w w w.pullmaneditions.com Pullman.indd 1

16/03/2018 17:41

THE GUIDE New Zealander Andrew Nicholson, now 57, will be in the running at this year’s Badminton Horse Trials

SPORTS

THE OLYMPIAN Sebastian Coe admires the endurance of horse and rider alike at the Badminton Horse Trials

F

A glorious day out, whether you’re a horse fan or not

greater test of rider and horse. Olympic tracks tame in comparison.

Director of Badminton, Hugh Thomas, was the course designer until 2013. He once told me over lunch that his objective was to protect the horse and ‘scare the shit out of the rider...’.

A big British day out? In raw numbers it’s the biggest. It attracts 500 journalists, a paddock of TV crews, 600 volunteers and over 250,000 visitors over the duration of the competition. Whether an equine fan or not, it should be on everyone’s list. This year could be a stonker. Andrew Nicholson – now 57 – a six-time Olympian and the pride of New Zealand, will be there or thereabouts, and German Michael Jung will be in the mix. Of the Brits, Gemma Tattersall, a seventh place finisher last year, represents the new guard. Tina Cook and William Fox-Pitt know the course extremely well and the Irish are always out in force.

Lots to look forward to, including the best bacon sandwich on offer anywhere in the world at 7.30am on a Saturday morning.

2-6 May. badminton-horse.co.uk

PHOTOS: © KIT HOUGHTON

or all television’s technical advancement, its clever camera angles and presentation, there are some sports that the box can never really do justice. Petrol heads will tell you that Formula One is a tame experience on the small screen – you really have to be entrenched trackside to understand the speed of the piloted projectiles. If you stand for long watching some of the bravest competitors in sport hurtling down a mountainside at unspeakable speed in a downhill ski championship, you end up with a cricked neck at the end of the day. Television has never captured speed nor gradient. Three-day eventing and, in particular, the Badminton Horse Trials, falls into that category too. Yes, you guessed it, Badminton is this month’s big British sporting day out.

My first trip to the trials was in the late Eighties. I walked the course on cross-country day with one of the sport’s finest, Ginny Leng, winner of the coveted trophy on three occasions. We strolled towards the first fence. I stood looking at the enormity of what horse and rider had to jump and turned to her and said, ‘You have got to be fucking joking…’ She smiled and pointed out that this was the first of 45 fences, ditches and drops over four miles, and only existed to provide both rider and horse with an early line and length, to mix my sporting metaphors.

The trials made their first appearance in 1949, the brainchild of the tenth Duke of Beaufort, whose original intent was to create an annual event that would be a pathway for young riders navigating their way into the international landscape. At first it attracted a handful of horses from Britain and Ireland, a quarter of which failed to complete the course. Since then, it has become the Wimbledon of the equine world and claims a unique distinction in sport; both men and women compete on equal terms. Lucinda Green has triumphed on six epic occasions. For many competitors, winning Badminton is a greater accolade than an Olympic title and, I would argue, it is a significantly 76 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | May 2018

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C&TH PARTNERSHIP

GOLD MEDALS & MICHELIN STARS You are invited to celebrate Chelsea Flower Show Week at a garden-to-plate masterclass with a gold medal-winning garden designer and a Michelin starred chef

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oin Country & Town House and bespoke kitchen design company Martin Moore at its glamorous Notting Hill showroom on Wednesday 23 May, 10.30-2pm to celebrate Chelsea Flower Show 2018 with a garden-to-plate-masterclass.

Landscape designer Paul Martin of Paul Martin Designs, winner of many international awards including a Gold Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2016, starts the day, giving his perspective on garden design and edible planting, celebrating the rise of garden-to-plate eating.

Following this, restaurateur David Moore, owner of the Michelin-starred Pied à Terre restaurant in London, along with Pied à Terre’s celebrated Head Chef, Asimakis Chaniotis, will host a cookery masterclass and tasting celebrating cooking with the very best of seasonal produce.

BOOK IT WHAT’S ON 10.30am

Coffee, tea and pastries

11.00am

Talk by Paul Martin

11.30am

Cookery masterclass

12.30pm

The masterclass will be followed by a delicious lunch, prepared by Daylesford and served with wine

2.00pm

Guests depart with goody bags

Tickets cost £20 each.

Places to be booked via Martin Moore Eventbrite page gold-medals-andmichelin-stars. eventbrite.co.uk Places strictly limited.

176 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W11 2RW martinmoore.com

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THE GUIDE

CARS

ROAD TEST BMW i8 Coupe Protonic Frozen Black is a hybrid to behold, says Jeremy Taylor

TOWN

Few cars look this good and even fewer drive this well.

The BMW i8 is a plug-in electric hybrid that will out-pose a Ferrari and boost your eco-credentials at the same time.

Thanks to a three-cylinder, 1.5-litre petrol engine, which works alongside a powerful electric motor – the former will charge the latter, or you can plug it in – it is exempt from the London congestion charge.

Lightweight, carbon fibre bodywork means the i8 tips the scales about the same as a conventional Ford Focus.

So, while some hybrid cars struggle to carry a heavyweight battery pack, the BMW remains dashingly quick.

If the radical styling isn’t enough to attract attention in the West End, the fact the i8 can creep through traffic in total silence will. In ‘stealth’ electric mode it is quite brilliant.

The tiny petrol engine is equally low on volume, so much so that BMW has fitted a synthesised exhaust to add a little aural drama. The result is an engine note that sounds like a Porsche, which isn’t really necessary.

Gullwing doors give the i8 a touch of supercar finesse. However, take care in a multi-storey car park with low roof space, the doors look cool but swing upwards fast.

The futuristic feel continues on the inside, with a cockpit borrowed from a space shuttle. At first sight, the i8 may appear overwhelming but it is actually as easy to use as any other BMW. RATING: 5/5 handbags

BMW I8 PROTONIC FROZEN BLACK Price £118,000 Engine 1.5 petrol and electric motor Power 362bhp 0-62mph 4.3 seconds Economy 134.5mpg (combined)

COUNTRY

The i8’s 134mpg economy figure isn’t achievable in the real world, which suggests this is a BMW that works best in town.

After all, it’s where an electric motor does most of the work.

However, it’s also an accomplished grand tourer, eating up the miles on a long journey. It proved supremely comfortable on a return trip from the Cotswolds to Norfolk, and still returned 51mpg.

Don’t expect much room in the rear, the two back seats are really only for children. Plus, the tiny boot space is further reduced to carry the various charging cables, so your luggage will probably end up on the back seats.

The driving position is low-slung and encourages fast cornering, while light steering and excellent brakes combine to make this the most agile of hybrid cars.

It’s not as fast as a Porsche 911 but the i8 is highly competent, and much easier on the eye.

Take into account all these factors, and you have a very appealing proposition; a car that is fast, eco-friendly and good-looking. If only the price were a little more realistic.

Secondhand, i8s start from less than £70,000 but expect to pay six figures for a new one. My Protonic Frozen Black special edition features matte black paint, wider wheels and upgraded interior trim which pushes the bill to £118,000. A lot of money for any car, but it does feel like you are driving the future in an i8, already one of the iconic vehicles of the 21st century.

RATING: 4/5 wellies

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YOUR NEXT CAR AWAITS

BOOK NOW WITH PROMO CODE CTH10 FOR 10% OFF Adults 17yrs+ £18.50 | Children 6-16yrs £10.50 or FREE with a paying adult* | Under 6yrs FREE *One free child’s ticket per paying adult.

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THE GUIDE

C O N V E R S AT I O N S AT S C A R F E S B A R

RUTH ROGERS Matthew Bell meets the formidable force behind the much-loved River Café Portrait by ALEXANDRA DAO

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stay because we invest in them, we keep them engaged and involved. he River Café was once described as ‘the best Italian Then sometimes they come to you and say, “I’m going, I want to start restaurant in the world – including Italy’. Now in its my own thing.” Which is also fine, because you need new blood, new 31st year, it’s proof of the theory that quality will last. people coming in, otherwise it gets static.’ Famous alumni include While most restaurants open with much fanfare then Stevie Parle, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. quietly close, The River Café has done the opposite – growing from Rogers is always moving forward, thinking up new ideas and recipes. a tiny canteen into a Michelin-starred institution.

But for all that her life might sound idyllic, it has not been without It’s remarkable given that neither of its founders, Ruth Rogers and hardships. Rose Gray died of cancer in 2010, and one of Ruth’s two Rose Gray, were professionally trained. ‘We were very ambitious,’ says sons, Bo, died of a seizure in the bath the following year, aged 27.

Ruthie (as she is known), ‘we made no money at first and it was very In 2008, there was a fire in the kitchen which forced them to close hard work.’ She speaks with an alluring American accent: she grew up for months. There were plans to open a second branch in Mayfair, in Woodstock, north of New York, but has lived in London since 1968. beneath the Gagosian Gallery off Berkeley Square, which eventually Many have credited her with helping to revolutionise British food came to nothing. ‘We spent two years on it, but there were some tastes, but she hates to knock British cuisine. ‘I try not to join the choir of people saying the food was terrible, because it was only about 15 years difficult residents who complained and the Grosvenor estate caved in.’

And now plans to open a pizzeria next door have been turned down. after rationing,’ she says. ‘I actually think British food is great.’

Another source of sadness is that her husband no longer works next In hear early 20s, she worked for Penguin, then as a graphic designer, but what kept her here was falling in love. She met the architect Richard door. ‘It was heartbreaking when his office moved,’ she says. ‘He would come over all the time and I would go over there, it was just Rogers, 14 years her senior, who was then married with so nice.’ It came about after one of his business partners three sons. It was a difficult time, but they knew they had turned against him and a protracted row ended at 3am with to be together. When a guest on Desert Island Discs, Richard the partner getting control of the site. The architectural chose Ruthie as his luxury. ‘That’s not allowed,’ said Sue firm moved out, and the site was sold three years ago to Lawley, the presenter. ‘Then I’m not going,’ he replied. a developer. ‘We were absolutely terrified that they were Ruth’s love of cooking was born in Paris, where they going to do a big development, but they’ve changed their lived while Richard was designing the Pompidou Centre. mind, so we’re safe. Now they’ve just sold it to the British She was also inspired by Richard’s mother, who was Italian Town or Railway pension fund, and Damien Hirst has moved into and a great cook. When they moved back to London in the country? Town.

Richard’s old office. It’s been a hard few years though.’ mid-80s, he bought a series of dilapidated warehouses on Pub lunch or Last year’s 30th birthday was celebrated with the the Thames to convert into his office. There were no cafés Michelin stars? publication of a beautiful book, and new projects nearby, so the development would need a canteen. After Michelin stars. include gift hampers and more outside catering. How perusing the applications from would-be restaurateurs, Gardening does Ruth relax? ’I go to the movies, and I love skiing. all terrible, Ruth suggested doing it herself. or theatre?

But I never really switch off. I don’t need to because At first the council would only allow them to open Theatre.

I love what I do. My children, that’s when I switch off. at lunchtime to employees of the wharf. Eight months Glass of wine We have a very large family. I have 12, soon to be 13 later they opened to the public, and a year later they or green tea?

Glass of wine. grandchildren and we’re very close.’ were granted permission to serve dinner. ‘I think that Does she ever miss America? ‘I go back a lot. My son the restrictions saved us, because we didn’t know anything Power breakfast or went to Colombia and lived in New York for ten years at all,’ she says. ‘Restrictions can be good. They forced us langourous though now he’s back. I love New York. And now that we to grow as cooks with the restaurant.’ lunch? Lunch. have this terrible problem, this embarrassingly vulgar One of the defining features of The River Café is that Dog or cat? president, people say to me, “Oh you must be relieved to only the freshest and highest quality ingredients are used.

Neither. be away,” but in a funny way I’ve never wanted to be there A lorry comes from Milan every few days, everything else Rolling hills more. I’m very engaged in American politics, it’s in my is sourced locally. ‘The only thing that comes by plane is or seaside? blood. I feel that I would run for office.’ Now that would the mozzarella.’ It’s noticeable that the restaurant has many Seaside. be a fine thing – Ruthie for President. loyal regulars, and staff often stay for years. ‘I love that they

IN BRIEF

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Dress, Talitha Necklaces, East African Trading Company Boots, Dubarry Bag, Fairfax & Favor

Safari

STYLE How to accessorise for the great outdoors Fashion director NICOLE SMALLWOOD Photography ALEXANDER BEER

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C&TH PARTNERSHIP

Dress, Dorothee Schumacher Bangles, East African Trading Company

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C&TH PARTNERSHIP

Hat, Dubarry Canvas bag, Ettinger Leather satchel, Tusting

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Dress, Roberto Cavalli Jacket, Carven Belt, boots and hat, all Dubarry

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Dress, Kalita Rucksack, Tusting Scarf, Dubarry Boots, Dubarry

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C&TH PARTNERSHIP

Bag, Fairfax & Favor Scarf, Dubarry

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C&TH PARTNERSHIP

Dress, Dorothee Schumacher. Jacket, Longchamp. Necklaces, East African Trading Company. Boots, Fairfax & Favor

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Jacket, Boss Trousers, Dorothee Schumacher Belt, Fairfax & Favor Bag, Ettinger Boots, Dubarry LOCATION The team travelled to Kenya with andBeyond and stayed at andBeyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp with prices starting from US$330 per person per night. andbeyond.com TEAM Fashion assistant: Daisy Bryson Hair: Sophie Higginson using Oribe Makeup: Sophie Higginson using CHANEL Neapolis: New City and Blue Serum Eye Model: Annemara Post @ Viva London STOCKISTS: 176

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Finding la BELLA FIGURA Stressed out, overweight and depressed in London, KAMIN MOHAMMADI healed herself by learning to live, love and eat the Italian way. Here she tells us how we can do it too

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en years ago I moved to Florence by accident.

It may seem unbelievable that one could relocate from one country to another without years of planning or taking a language lesson, but nonetheless, that is what happened to me.

My Florentine adventure started – as these things often do – one rainy day when I was pretty much at the end of my tether. I was sitting at my desk in London, gazing out at the colourless drizzle, sighing, as thousands of office workers across the city must have been doing also. When the email arrived from a friend proposing a week in the sun in Provence, I hesitated just for long enough to check the weather forecast before buying a ticket. There, on that last-minute dash to the sun, I met a fiercely stylish woman with white hair with a thick stripe of black running down the middle. The beautifully named Christobel was

a writer, wife, mother to five children and, unbeknown to both of us that clear bright day, she was about to add another string to her bow – that of my fairy godmother.

That chance meeting was the reason why, some months later, I found myself queuing for a taxi outside Florence’s main train station with the address of Christobel’s holiday apartment in my hand. It was raining. With no umbrella, and a long queue ahead, I wondered if I had

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FROM ABOVE: Kamin found love in Italy; beautiful Florence; Christobel Kent, novelist and fairy godmother made the right decision – I knew no one in Florence, did not speak a word of Italian and had nothing to do but try to write a book. Since Christobel’s suggestion that I should take some time out of my frazzled life in London to try writing in her flat in Florence for a few weeks, my job, my cat and my flat had all magically disappeared.

For the first time in my adult life, I was without a fixed income or a home of my own, there on a one-way ticket.

I felt like a piece of flotsam washed up in the Renaissance gutters.

At the flat, I sat at the kitchen window and gazed at a tall slim tower that overlooked the courtyard. It belonged to the neighbourhood church and, Christobel had told me, had once sheltered Michelangelo from some approaching army or other. As I squinted through the rain at its four bells and biscuit-coloured stone, I thought miserably that I too had run away as Michelangelo had all those centuries ago. Except that what I had run away from was not an actual army, but its modern equivalent – stress, burnout, chronic fatigue and unresolvable digestive problems that had made me sick.

In the years I had been in my perfect job – a glamorous position heading up a glossy magazine for a prestigious publisher – I had gone from being a happy, sociable and slim girl to becoming a frowning, tired and grumpy editor with too many unreachable deadlines and targets, and not enough fun or boyfriends. What felt almost worse than the 14-hour days I regularly put in, was the inexplicable weight gain – in spite of a roster of health advisers, nutritionists and access to the latest exercise fads, nothing I did stopped the weight from piling on. The three dress sizes that I went up in the first year

were compounded by skin that erupted in acne so pestilent that some days I literally didn’t know where to put my face.

I made changes – not positive ones.

I stopped looking in the mirror. I walked up the stairs to my office to avoid the daily lift ride which, at the best of times, required nerves of steel, a pre-season designer wardrobe and the insouciance of Kate Moss to survive. I dressed in black shifts that may have been made by Prada but were shapeless nonetheless. I was shrouded by a deep tiredness that no nights of sleep could shake. And finally, I became depressed, spending the few precious hours I had off every week alone in my flat with my cat.

I made my living from peddling hard-toattain perfection to other women, so the irony of my situation was not lost on me.

But it wasn’t until I met Christobel, and, as if at her behest, all the things that had anchored me in London disappeared, that I took the hint life was so emphatically giving me, and decided to take a risk and step off the cliff. A cliff with a Renaissance face, but a cliff nonetheless.

Ten years later, I am still in Florence, married to the man I met at the end of my first year in Italy. Quite by accident, the combination of the golden Tuscan light, the beauty of the Renaissance town, the voluble character of the people and, perhaps most of all, the colours and noises of the fruit and vegetable market and the friends I made there who told me how to prepare the delicious produce in season, healed me. My stress drained away, my depression was slowly burnt off by the beauty and the daily practices that I learnt from my neighbours – of walking slowly, of looking up to notice the beauty, of taking time to savour a coffee – and joy in the simple rituals and street-corner chats, transformed not just my body and my spirit, but also the shape of my heart.

What I learnt about living, eating and loving in Florence I call the Bella Figura method – a nod to the Italian philosophy of making everything as beautiful as it can be, just for its own sake. A sort of Mediterranean mindfulness, it governs everything from how you walk down the street (with your head held high not buried in a smartphone), to how you dress (with

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Live La Bella Figura Here’s some tips on how to make the Bella Figura work for you, wherever in the world you are

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MAKE LIKE SOPHIA LOREN Drink a spoonful of extravirgin olive oil four times a day

Sophia Loren swears by extravirgin olive oil for keeping her happy, healthy and beautiful

Loren uses nothing else to cook with and puts it on her skin and hair, and in the bath. Extra-virgin olive oil fights dangerous stomach fat and reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and insulin sensitivity. Scientists found that in just four weeks of replacing other fats with extra-virgin olive oil, both visceral and deep belly fat was reduced.

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MANGIA MANGIA What and how to eat

Natural and wholefoods are key.

This is not a diet. Bella Figura is more about what we put into our bodies than what we don’t. We detox our cupboards instead of ourselves, eliminating anything that doesn’t bear any resemblance to its origins, or has E numbers, microwavable packaging and a sell-by date that exceeds our own expected lifetime. The Italians take pleasure in their food and this is what we should aim for. Their multi-course meals encourage eating slowly, and in the pause in between courses the brain has time to realise Eat the Italian way how full it is: the hormones that regulate appetite need about 20 minutes to reach the brain. Eating mindlessly in front of the computer gives not only less pleasure, but it overshoots the timing of the hormones, so it’s much easier to overeat.

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MUOVERSI Get moving

Do as the Italians do and seize any opportunity to get moving – be it taking the stairs, doing the coffee run at work, or walking part of the way to the office with gusto. Better still, join a dance class: learning a new skill burns new pathways in your brain, and releases those feel-good hormones. It will give you a community, a new passion, have music pumping through your body (instead of cortisol) and dancing in hold will give you some of those ten embraces a day that scientists say release oxytocin and make you feel loving and compassionate.

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COME BERE How to drink

Drink alcohol in moderation – a small glass of wine with dinner is the guide. A report suggests it is women with expensive homes and six-figure salaries who drink more than any other social group: up to two-thirds will drink more than the healthy limit. The bella figura demands we break this unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Remember that drinking to excess will make you pile on weight and stress out your skin as well as all the internal damage it is doing.

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LA PASSEGGIATA Walking, seeing and being seen

Walk with style. Good posture is all-important. Walk tall as if offering your heart up to the sky. Look up more: looking down at our smartphones is slackening our jawlines prematurely, sagging our faces, giving us jowls before they are due. Smile much more – research shows that if you smile genuinely enough and often enough you will release the feel-good hormone serotonin. Seek out your community; don’t be fooled by the remote connection offered by social media.

Considering the difference between the Italian way of life – with its squares thronging with all the generations and the nightly passeggiata – and our own, it is perhaps no surprise that in the UK in 2016, 64.7 million antidepressant prescriptions were given out – nearly double that of a decade ago. Loneliness adversely affects the immune and cardiovascular systems and has been proven to be worse for one’s health than smoking.

To be healthy we need to see our friends and family, visit our grannies, call up our aunts and cousins. So let’s go back to doing things together, even if it’s just a stroll in the park or a visit to the greengrocer. It may just save our lives.

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FESTINA LENTE In haste slowness

There’s practically nothing that can’t be improved by slowing down – even climbing the stairs deliberately instead of running has been proven to lose you an extra pound a month. Seek out nature as often as you can, be it a city park, a tree on your street, or some nearby wild place, wherever you can go to let your eyes soak up the green, a natural and effective way to de-stress. And consciously, at least once a week, contemplate beauty – be it a painting, an urban corner you love, a wide blue sky or the most exquisite of shoes. Do this quietly and without any purpose other than your pleasure. When I first arrived in Florence and my unhappiness was palpable, I was advised to ‘let the beauty heal you’. I think it did. And if you follow the simple tips of Bella Figura, it will do the same for you. ■ Win a Bella Figura bundle including a Globe Trotter Propellor Overnight Bag, Bella Figura by Kamin Mohammadi (published

by Bloomsbury) and a selection of Kamin’s Magic Balm. Visit countryandtownhouse.co.uk for details of how to enter.

PHOTOS: BERNARDO CONTI

style rather than fashion), to how to manage your love life (with passion). It encompasses how to shop and what to eat, as well as showing how you can stay as slim as Italian women (statistically one of the slimmest in Europe) while still enjoying a glass of red wine and scoop of gelato. Knowing and living by the Bella Figura method, it comes as no surprise to me that the Bloomberg Global Health Index recently put Italy at the top of its list of the world’s healthiest countries.

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PROMOTION

WEDDING BLOOMS

Sayeh & Galton is the go-to florist for weddings in and around London with an inspirational creative director, Sayeh Rafiei, at the helm

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stablished in 1948, Sayeh & Galton is a Londonbased florist well-practised in the art of exquisite wedding arrangements and breathtaking bridal bouquets. Working solely with premium quality flowers sourced from the UK and Holland, there’s a reason that Sayeh & Galton is used by members of the royal family for special occasions.

Whether your wedding Sayeh Rafiei is grand or intimate, romantic or rustic, traditional or contemporary, Sayeh & Galton tailor its floral wizardry to your personal taste. With recent weddings at Claridge’s, the Four Seasons and Blenheim Palace, this renowned florist can turn its hand to any venue, brief and budget.

Above all, it is the bespoke service and personal relationships, with brides in particular, that make Sayeh & Galton a cut above the rest.

The business boasts a talented team of experienced, creative florists, each of them a true perfectionist in their art. From every wedding and bride, to every petal, leaf

and tie, each tiny detail matters. Their knowledge is outstanding; they can advise on everything, from the most flattering bouquet shape for their bride’s physique and dress, to the best flowers and foliage for the season.

Sayeh Rafiei, creative director, has been at the heart of the business since 2004. ‘We build very strong relationships with all our brides,’ she says, ‘working with them from conception to completion. We listen, advise and guide, and together we make the best, most costeffective choices. Their needs always come first.

‘We understand how important weddings are and we love playing a part in creating a special day for our brides. They only get to do it once and we want them to enjoy the experience from beginning to end.’

To enquire about weddings, deliveries or floristry courses, see sayehgaltonflowers.com or visit the floristry shops in Hampstead (NW3) or Westfield Shopping Centre (W12).

YOUR INVITATION FROM US: To arrange a free bridal consultation with Sayeh herself, email info@galtonflowers.com or call +44 (0)20 7435 3661. galtonflowers.com

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The A-Z of

BEAUTY& WELLNESS LUCY CLELAND guides you through best treatments, products, places and people to put you in peak condition

Harness your horse power, like Heidi Klein (heidiklein.com)

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Beauty junkies should put writer and beauty editor Olivia Falcon’s number on speed dial.

With over 15 years in the business, Olivia has launched The Editor’s List, a new platform where she gives you personalised, expert advice on the world’s top cosmetic procedures and practitioners (both surgical and non-surgical) – and will even come along to appointments with you.

Frank and fair, it’s like asking a best friend whether you should go for that acid peel or trust this clinic for botox – all in the most discreet way.

With consultations starting from £350, Olivia’s service is bound to become the beauty industry’s worst kept secret. editorslist.co.uk

There’s not a drop of alcohol in a Seedlip negroni

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LCOHOL

We all know the negative effects of drinking too much. Luckily, you’ll barely know what you’re missing with the fantastic array of non-alcoholic drinks now available. For beer, we’ll defy you not to love the taste of artisan lager brand, Fit Beer (£22.50 for a case of 12. fitbeer.co.uk); if spirits are your Achilles heel, try a Seedlip negroni for a pick-me-up (seedlipdrinks. com). And if you want to party without the hangover, head to Soda Sessions at Nine Lives, London Bridge on Tuesdays for oldschool nineties hip-hop tunes, booze-free cocktails and pizza (ninelivesbar.com).

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DITOR’S LIST

Olivia Falcon has launched The Editor’s List

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some much-needed ‘me time’ (from IV drips to cryotherapy), while an Ofsted registered crèche provides stimulation and care for the little ones. A win-win in our book (family memberships from £2,000 per year. cloudtwelve.co.uk). Meanwhile, for adults only, Fitzrovia’s Mortimer House has now introduced its wellness programme, including meditation and a rotation of fitness classes (mortimerhouse.com).

Don’t neglect down there.

Your feet need a bit of attention now and then. Margaret Dabbs’ medical pedi will see your feet sloughed of dead skin and your toe nails shaped, buffed and re-hydrated. Want to perfect your pins? She’s just launched two new leg treatments (£95 each) with a product range to go with them. margaretdabbs.co.uk

ACTERIA

It might seem counterintuitive to add bacteria to your beauty regime but brands like US-based Mother Dirt actually use live bacteria to combat our predilection for over-cleansing, thereby removing the healthy bacteria from our faces, which can result dryness, acne and eczema. The live bacteria does all the good work for you, leaving you with balanced, hydrated and healthy-looking skin.

Cult product? Mother Dirt AO+ Mist (£49.99. contentbeautywellbeing.com).

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LUBS

Wellness with kids has now become much easier with the opening of Notting Hill’s Cloud Twelve members’ club, which offers adults

G Try Potage if you fancy a break from cooking

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ELIVERIES

Never has it been easier to get a balanced diet delivered to your door. Try Potage for dishes such as hotsmoked salmon, avocado and brown rice salad with sweet chilli dressing (potage.co.uk).

Concerned about what your children are eating? Wild Child Kitchen offers balanced and nutritious, kid-friendly food like lamb and sultana meatballs in roasted veggie sauce with quinoa to those living within the M25 (wildchildkitchen.co.uk).

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UT HEALTH

Now that we know the gut is the epicentre of good health, it’s important to pay attention. Expect to see fungi playing a more critical role with the recent launch of Mahmoud Ghannoum, PhD’s BIOHM, the first probiotic created to address the critical role fungus plays in digestive health. biohmhealth.com

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IGH TECH

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Now it’s not just in fairytales that mirrors answer back. The smart HiMirror Plus, with Amazon’s Alexa built in, will scan your skin and display back the results in graphic detail. It can then offer dermatological advice and makeup tutorials. £349. selfridges.com

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NSTAGRAM

Avoiding the clean, lean, green tribe with their over filtered imagery and lack of qualifications, there are some real, qualified heath and fitness gurus worth following. Amelia Freer (@ameliafreer) counts Victoria Beckham, Sam Smith and James Corden among her followers and her feed is loaded with great recipes and sound advice. Kayla Itsines (@kayla_itsines) may have the body of your dreams, but you don’t hate her for it. Her feed is full of inspirational quotes, work outs and pictures of girls working hard to achieve their goals.

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IGHT THERAPY

Inspired by NASA research, LED light therapy is a noninvasive treatment that combats ageing and cellular damage, healing acne scars, inflammation and sun damage, promoting collagen and elastin production, leaving skin toned, smooth and plump. A course is recommended for radiant results. LED face masks for home-use bring anti-ageing technology to your sofa. £220 for a course of four at John Tsagaris. johntsagaris.co.uk

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SCAR-WORTHY TREATMENTS

Greta Gerwig and Elisabeth Moss’s dew-drop complexions at this year’s Oscars can be put down to to New York-based celebrity facialist Joanna Vargas and her Supernova facial.

Not yet available to the public, her intense regime of peels, steams, masks and cryotherapy will no doubt have people jumping on the waiting list for A-list skin. joannavargas.com

Amelia Freer is a qualified nutritionist whose Instagram feed is worth following

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LASTIC

One-use plastic is becoming as socially toxic as cigarette smoking. Show you’re part of the movement with Adidas by Stella McCartney Parley Ultraboost sneakers, all made from plastic debris found in the ocean (£170. matchesfashion.com) and Frank Green’s award-winning SmartCup for coffee refills (£19.99. frankgreen.com).

O

I GONG

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Western women are quickly cottoning on to Japanese beauty regimes which put a little more care and attention than perhaps we are used to over here: think double cleansing, sunscreen use, serums and organic boosters as part of the daily ritual. If you want to join the beauty beasts from the east, products to fill your cabinet with are DHC Cleansing oil (£24. dhcuk.co.uk), Lululun Balance Moisture Masks (£33.99. amazon.co.uk) and Kracie Ichikami Hair Styling Water (£14.18. yesstyle.com).

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M

BEAUTY

IMCHI AND KOMBUCHA

If you’re not having kimchi with poached egg for breakfast (try Granger & Co. grangerandco.com), kombucha cocktails or sauerkraut sandwiches, you really don’t know what’s good for you (and your gut).

ULTIPURPOSE PRODUCTS

While Japanese influence sees some adding products into their routine, a slew of hardworking three-in-ones will make others streamline them instead. For a bargain, try Lixir’s Universal Emulsion (£29. lixirskin.co.uk).

Want to splurge? Then Orveda’s Prebiotic Emulsion should be your choice (£280. orveda.com).

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IGHT CREAMS

Whereas day creams are made to protect, night creams are made to repair, so they’re formulated differently and should form part of your daily skincare routine. Look for ingredients such as Vitamin C, retinol and hyaluronic acid as key active ingredients. We love Sunday Riley’s Luna Sleeping Night Oil (£85. spacenk.com) and Teoxane’s RHA Serum (£79. effortlessskin.com).

Also known as ‘moving meditation’, this ancient Chinese practice comprises a series of gentle movements that bring not only strength and flexibility but also energy to the body, while focusing the mind as you hold the poses through several breaths, inhaling and exhaling through the nose. Want to find out more? Visit shaolintempleuk.org.

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EALISTIC PRICING

With brands such as The Ordinary, MAKE and Pestle and Mortar, and clever membership services like Beauty Pie, focusing more on product and less on packaging, this has been the biggest revolution in recent years. Our cult product? The Ordinary’s Vitamin C Suspension 23% which brightens the skin and costs an incredible £4.90.

What’s not to love? theordinary.com

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OCIAL MEDIA

Varley does great athleisure

Reading about the damaging effects of social media is probably just as bad as being online 24/7 in the first place, so we suggest just switching your tablet off and chucking it in a drawer/the sea.

Failing that, there are plenty of apps to help you wean yourself off your smartphone addiction. Moment tracks how much you use your device each day and you can set daily limits; Forest plants a virtual tree when you leave your phone alone for half an hour (it dies if you don’t); Twilight adapts its screen colour according to the time of day, so come night time, it filters the blue and gives you a more sleep-inducing red.

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ANNING

Nowadays you don’t have to spend 10 days in the Maldives to get a winter glow. Dr Sebagh’s new Self-Tanning Drops will do the job just fine; just mix a few drops of the HEV Melaninpacked formula (which actually helps to protect skin for harmful HEV light) with your moisturiser and within a few hours, sunkissed skin is all yours. £35. drsebagh.com

U

LTIMATE FACIAL

With 23 years’ experience as a doctor and surgeon under his belt, Mr Kambiz Golchin is set to revolutionise non-invasive, anti-ageing techniques with his new SVF Stem Cell Cocktail Technique facial, which works by extracting stem cells from your fat (easy apparently), using no nasty chemicals.

From £10,000. kambizgolchin.com

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ORK OUT GEAR

Athleisure has now left performance gear for dust in terms of sales (according to US market research firm NPD Group), meaning that we’re all jumping on the leggings/trainers combo without necessarily training for that half marathon. We love Varley for high performance (from £45. varley.com), No Ka’Oi, as who doesn’t need a pair of silver metallic leggings (£210. net-a-porter. com), and The Upside for prints that take it above and beyond (matchesfashion.com).

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MARKS THE SPOT

Everyone gets the odd breakout from time to time, so keep these spot killers in your beauty armoury. For those nasty, pus-filled ones, nothing beats Mario Badescu Drying Lotion (£16. beautybay.com). For less troublesome beasts, La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar Duo should do the trick (£16. boots.com).

By Chloe brings its own brand of veganism to the UK

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EGAN

One of the most potent food movements of the moment shows no sign of abating. From beauty brands like

By Sarah to restaurants like By CHLOE and cookbooks such as Bettina CampolucciBordi’s Happy Food (£20, Hardie Grant), it’s never been easier or more socially acceptable to ditch the animal products.

Sleep into something silky with Dr Jack’s PJs

Stretch it out with aerial yoga

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OGA

Aerial yoga runs you through the gamut of traditional yoga poses but with the benefit of supporting the postures and deep stretches in a more relaxed way.

It also feels a bit more exhilarating too.

Classes are now widespread and usually available at most good yoga studios.

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ZZZZZZ....

Quality sleep can’t be underestimated, so curate your perfect snoozing environment with Dr Jack’s silk PJs (from £150. tenderisthenight.co.uk), Homedic’s Deep Sleep White Noise Machine (£49.99. homedics.co.uk) and Votary’s pillow spray (£30. votary.co.uk). To be a sleeping beauty, slather on Alpha-H Beauty Sleep Power Peel twice a week to plump, firm and boost radiance (£54. cultbeauty.co.uk). ■

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The Shape of

WATER Fashion gets wet and wild Fashion director NICOLE SMALLWOOD Photography NICKY EMMERSON

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Dress, Jenny Packham Earrings, Allison Bryan

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Dress, Self-Portrait Rings, Allison Bryan

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Purple and silver stripe dress, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini.

Sunglasses, Christopher Kane. Earrings, Allison Bryan

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Top and shorts, Zimmermann.

Earrings, Allison Bryan

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Top, Emilio De la Morena. Trousers, Rejina Pyo. Gold hoop earrings, Allison Bryan.

Gold ring, Maya Magal

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Playsuit, Ermanno Scervino. Rings, Maya Magal

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Dress, Temperley London Rings and earrings, Allison Bryan LOCATION The team stayed at Carlisle Bay, Antigua. Rooms start from $575 per night based on two sharing. +1 268 484 0000; carlisle-bay.com TEAM Hair by Sophie Higginson using Oribe.

Make-up and nails by Sophie Higginson using CHANEL Rouge Coco Lip Blush and Blue Serum Eye and CHANEL Neapolis: New City Model: Neus @ Supreme Management New York STOCKISTS: PAGE 176

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ON LOCATION

For the C&TH spa cover shoot, the fashion team flew off to sunny Antigua and the beautiful resort of Carlisle Bay

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et in a secluded cove on Antigua’s idyllic south coast, just a 40-minute drive from the airport and the bustling capital of St John’s, Carlisle Bay is tucked away between its own private white sandy beach, clear turquoise sea and lush tropical rainforest. A dream location for this issue’s spa cover and fashion story.

ROOMS: The hotel has 87 spacious suites, all with elegant interiors, private balconies or terraces, and the airy tropical feel you can only find in the Caribbean. Six newly created, adults-only Bay Suites have been unveiled, ideal for a honeymoon retreat or special occasion (there are also sections of the hotel that are family friendly). Each has its own private butler service, vodka and rum bar set up and Temple Spa products in each room. Just say the word and your butler will organise a romantic dinner for two adjacent to the jetty, under the stars.

Other suites offer single and split-level accommodation with studio-style rooms as well as two-bedroom offerings. The majority of the rooms, however, are open-plan, with some having separate sitting rooms and others having the option of interconnecting rooms, which are great for families or larger groups.

Many rooms offer full or partial views of the sweeping white sands and turquoise waters or the tropical rainforest, perfect for watching the sunset with a martini in hand.

Elegant interiors

Getting wet is all part of the process

SPA/ACTIVITIES: The Blue Spa at Carlisle Bay, regarded as one of the best on the island, is set in a beautiful two-floor pavilion. Many of the treatments, including facials, massages and scrubs, are exclusive to the hotel. Some are designed to counterbalance the effects of sun and long-haul travel, while others are simply designed to make you feel fabulous.

There are six treatment rooms, including one for couples, a wet room, sauna, plunge pool, hair salon, juice bar and state-of-the-art gym, along with a yoga pavillion and nine tennis

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courts, as well as kayaking, snorkelling, windsurfing and paddle boarding. There really is something here for everyone.

A new meditative wellness experience, Island Bathing, has been designed to help restore inner peace when travelling. Guests are transported by private boat to a secluded desert island, where a wellness master will lead them though guided meditation and breath work surrounded by the calming sound of the gently breaking waves, rustling palm fronds and fragrant Caribbean breezes.

If you have children, there’s Cool Kids and Crew Club for endless activities that will keep them entertained for hours.

WINING AND DINING: There are four bars at the hotel. Indigo on the Beach is great for afternoon tea or a cocktail while you sit back and watch the world go by. If you’re looking for something a little livelier, head for Pavillion Bar which offers live piano or jazz every evening. Then there’s the informal Jetty Bar, ideal for a sundowner after a day on the beach. Don’t miss Coconut Grove for a barefoot lunch or cocktails in a more shaded secluded area of the beach.

While some of the restaurants appeal to families, others are geared towards adults or honeymooners.

Chef Lisa Sellers prepares food that is rich and fresh, using homegrown produce and delivered with a Caribbean twist.

Restaurant choice really depends on your mood. Indigo is set on the edge of the beach with the sea lapping

Playing about in the water

Carlisle Bay is one of Antigua’s finest hotels

just a few metres from your table. Open all day, it serves breakfast, lunch and dinners of delicious healthy grills, barbecues, seafood and salads.

Or, East, in the main hotel, considered one of the island’s finest Asian restaurants and open only for dinner, serves pan-Asian cuisine in a stunning setting. By the pool, Ottimo! is laidback with a wood-burning pizza oven and classic Italian dishes.

Antigua offers a year-round holiday destination, and with 365 beaches to discover, you’ll want to come back for more.

Rooms start from $575 per night based on two sharing. +1 268 484 0000; carlisle-bay.com

PACKING ESSENTIALS 1 Three Graces Mirinda dress, £390. threegraceslondon.com 2 Away suitcase, £275. awaytravel.com 3 Stella McCartney sunglasses, £240. stellamccartney.com 4 Rae Feather Macramé tote, £185. raefeather.com 5 Adriana Degreas bikini, £306. modaoperandi.com 6 Oscar de la Renta tasseled earrings, £510. net-a-porter.com 7 DHC Perfect Pro waterproof mascara, £15.90. dhcuk.co.uk 8 Isabel Marant sandals, £335. matchesfashion.com

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The Firmer.

A unique and intensive firming, tightening and lifting four week treatment, Dr Sebagh Platinum Gold Elixir is infused with 13 active ingredients including Platinum, 24K Gold and a bio-tech peptide complex to help smooth out expression lines. Apply on its own, morning and night, or mix with your favourite serum or moisturiser.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

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SPA GUIDE 45 pages of how to soothe the mind, cleanse the body and invigorate the soul...

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T H E S PA G U I D E

CONTENTS 114

SPA TROTTING Lisa Brown brings us the latest spa news

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A MAN’S EYE VIEW Male opinions on the spa experience

122

GUT REACTION Sophie Benge on treasuring our tummies

124

UNDER DOCTOR’S ORDERS Not for the feint-hearted

126

DIG YOUR DOSHA All about ayurveda

128

MIND OVER MATTER Find your inner calm

130

ART OF THE RE-TOX How not to relapse after a detox

132

WATERWORLD Let H20 wash over you

134

INTO THE WOODS The healing power of trees

136

THE GREAT OUTDOORS Get out there and embrace it

140

NICE ’N’ EASY Health is just a hop, skip and a jump away

142

BEACH RETREATS Dose up on sun and sand

146

NEED A T-WEAKMENT? Nathalie Eleni on the best non surgical treatments

148

BEAUTY QUEENS Brands that deliver results

150

A FAMILY AFFAIR Bring everyone along

152

ON HOME TURF Blighty’s best spa offerings

CONTRIBUTORS: Abi Butcher, Alex Gorton, Anastasia Bernhardt, Anna Pasternak, Camilla Hewitt, Caroline Phillips, Chloe Smith, Emma Love, Emma Whitehair, Harriet Compston, Jo Fernandez, Kamin Mohammadi, Lisa Brown, Lucy Cleland, Lydia Bell, Martha Ward, Mary Lussiana, Mimi Spencer, Nathalie Eleni, Rosalyn Wikeley, Stephanie Drax and Ursula Lake

EDITOR’S LETTER

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t is no longer news that the world of spas and health holidays is blossoming, if not fully fledged. The word ‘wellbeing’ has become an integral part of our everyday language, accessible to all, achieved through a well-accepted code of living: sleep more, stress less, eat green, disconnect to reconnect, meditate to levitate. Yet sometimes I, for one, feel we are being bombarded from all sides by this notion of perfected living and I often wonder if I can keep up with all the rules. Frequently I berate myself for my ‘bad’ behaviour, only to remember I am also meant to be thinking positively.

Many of us are also juggling careers with the needs of our children. Mine recently gave me a card depicting everything I love on it – the cinema, sunshine, chocolate (100 per cent dark, obviously), our dog, and then there it was – my laptop – because apparently I am ‘always’ on it. I almost started to feel guilty. Almost. Because, if it weren’t for my computer my children might not wake up to a view of rolling green hills every day. They might never picnic by a stream in the summer or know the everyday magic of the changing seasons. We all have our codes.

I want my children to know that they don’t have to be chained to an office desk for life. And that hard work can help not to just put food on the table, but to achieve a satisfied life, mind and heart. For me, health is more and more about fulfilment. Unlike our Instagram accounts, this is not something that can be filtered, though there are definitely times when we might need help remembering how to live the best possible lives we can, for us, in this present moment.

This guide is a barometer to the most inspiring spas in the world right now. Each has been tried and tested, and all of them are indeed dedicated to your personal wellbeing. Our advice?

Dip in, travel, seek revelation, return refreshed. Take with you only the pieces of guidance that work for you. Don’t aim for 100 per cent obedience. Aim to be you, in your brilliance, and to have fun in the process. Because we only do this once. And it is definitely meant to be an enjoyable journey. So take good, very good, care of your self.

Daisy Finer

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The Hydrator.

Reach for instant and intense hydration. Dr Sebagh Serum Repair immediately hydrates and plumps the skin whilst leaving it feeling firmer and tighter. Use this skin care legend on its own, or mix with any serum or moisturiser.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

SPA TROTTING

Lisa Brown, founder of theluxuryspaedit.com, shares the hottest launches, wellness programmes and spa trends around the globe

SEVEN PINES, Ibiza

HOT NEW OPENINGS

THE LANGLEY Buckinghamshire

Launching this summer, The Langley (sister hotel to The Wellesley in London) will have a world-class spa featuring vitality pools and a women-only thermal area. With topclass systems and equipment, the state-of-the-art gym will be led by fitness guru Matt Roberts. Services will include personal training, group classes, health diagnostics and nutrition consultations. thelangley.com

BÜRGENSTOCK RESORT Lake Lucerne, Switzerland

The Alpine Spa at Bürgenstock Resort (set 500m above Lake Lucerne) is set to become one of the top ten spa destinations in the world. The glassenclosed haven embraces its breathtaking backdrop of the Swiss Alps with floorto-ceiling windows. Facilities include an outdoor infinity pool to revel in those epic views, panorama saunas, Kneipp baths and Jacuzzis hidden within caves. buergenstock.ch

The White Isle sees one of the most exciting wellness openings of 2018. Seven Pines nestles in a forest on the west coast with incredible sunset views. Its spa, Pure 7, is set to be a game-changer on the island’s wellbeing scene – with organic elements alongside cosmetology, medical aesthetics, meditation, breathwork, yoga, running trails, cross-country biking and stand-up paddle boarding. 7pines.com

ARCTIC BATH Harads, Sweden

A new wellness retreat is heading to the shores of the Lule River. Scheduled to drop anchor in December, Arctic Bath will free-float in summer and stay ice static come winter. The innovative floating creation circles an open air cold bath, great for circulation though not for the faint-hearted; during wintertime the water plummets to 4°C. Post-dip you can defrost in one of several saunas or the hot tub. arcticbath.se

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FIVE RETREATS TO GET YOU IN TIP TOP SHAPE...

1

THE MATT ROBERTS RETREAT Lime Wood, Hampshire

With up to 10 hours of personal training, the retreat encourages you to ignite or rekindle your love of fitness. As well as energy fuelling breakfasts and a dinner from Hartnett Holder & Co, there are spa treatments, nutritional discussions and cooking demos. Use of the award-winning Herb House Spa facilities are thrown in, and you get to stay in the lap of luxury in the heart of the New Forest.

23-25 June. From £3,050, including accommodation. limewoodhotel.co.uk

2

THE ENERGY HEALING RETREAT Six Senses Spa at The Alpina Gstaad, Switzerland

1 2

This three-day programme has been designed by wellness masters Six Senses to restore vitality, boost energy and provide mental clarity. Treatments include the Kundalini Back Treatment, which uses ancient massage techniques to balance the nervous system and sound healing. Yoga, meditation, an amethyst wrap and holistic massages are also on the menu. From CHF1,500pp, excluding accommodation. thealpinagstaad.ch

3

INTRO TO DETOX PROGRAM Kamalaya, Thailand

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An ideal solution for the detox curious – the simple and effective programme features Kamalaya’s delicious detox cuisine and a range of holistic therapies to cleanse the body. The package includes wellness consultations, a Body Bio-impedance analysis, holistic massages and use of fitness and yoga facilities. From £1,400 full board. kamalaya.com

4

ULTIMATE RESHAPE Epic Sana, Portugal

Get in shape on the shores of the Algarve...

The seven-day reshape programme includes fitness and nutrition, a wellness meal plan, a modelling massage, workout days, wellness workshops, five transdermal mesotherapy sessions and access to EPIC Vital group activities and spa facilities. From €2,893. sanahotels.com

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5

5

DIOR INSTITUT EXPERIENCE Plaza Athénée, Paris

An aesthetic boost from one of the world’s leading beauty and fashion houses, The Dior Institut Experience includes an overnight stay, American breakfast for two and €200 towards a treatment of your choice. You can opt for one of the high-end facials or get preened for a night on the town with the made-to-measure make-over. They also throw in a Dior nail varnish and complimentary access to the fitness room and hammam. From €1,370. dorchestercollection.com

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THE LANGHAM

LONDON HOTELS UPPING THEIR WELLNESS GAME...

With expertly executed rituals such as Magnesium Wellness and Tranquil Deep Sleep, the Chuan Spa offers some of the best alternative therapies in the metropolis. After a recent revamp, this hidden haven of wellness boasts his-andhers steam and sauna rooms, a stateof-the-art Technogym and a glorious 16-metre swimming pool – housed cleverly in an old banking vault. Be sure to stop by the spa lounge where you can chomp on healthy snacks and quaff a detox shot. chuanbodyandsoul.com

THE CORINTHIA

ESPA Life at Corinthia has launched a Nurture & Support programme specifically designed for those who are undergoing, or have recently received, treatment for cancer. ESPA worked closely with Wellness for Cancer™ to develop the treatment collection of four nurturing face and body rituals, which include Be Nurtured Facial, Be Nurtured Massage and Be Nurtured Energy Balancer. espalifeatcorinthia.com

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Its ‘next generation spa’ will be unveiled this spring after an 18-month refurbishment. Expect to enjoy express beauty treatments, a hair salon by colour queen Jo Hansford and a mani-pedi studio by renowned French podiatrist, Bastien Gonzalez. The fitness centre will welcome guests into a hightech space overlooking the swimming pool, and there’s a new yoga studio featuring classes from award-winning trainer and founder of London’s successful PilatesPT studio, Hollie Grant (left). mandarinoriental.com

PHOTOS: © JÉRÔME GALLAND POUR CHRISTIAN DIOR PARFUMS

MANDARIN ORIENTAL

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The Ultimate.

The serum that sets new standards. Working with the body’s chronological clock, Dr Sebagh Signature Serum is especially potent at night when the skin’s processes of regeneration are at their most active. A pioneering ingredient encourages skin cells to behave like young ones and helps to delay their deterioration with age.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

A MAN’S EYE VIEW

Think spas are mostly for the female of the species? Think again.

We despatched three men to India, Austria and Switzerland for some ‘me-time’. This is how they got on…

ANANDA, The Himalayas Tim Lott is a veteran spa goer, and it’s the Ananda that pulls him back again and again. This time, though it’s to address his mental, not physical wellbeing Arriving at the Ananda Spa in the Himalayas is not a new experience for me. I have visited twice before.

The trouble is, the moment I leave, I just want to go back. This time it was a nine year wait. Too long.

The Ananda regularly features on the ‘best spa in the world’ lists.

It is in a beautiful location – in the foothills of the Himalayas overlooking the Ganges river valley – and its spa is matchless, with 25 rooms spread across thousands of square footage.

But that is not why I love the Ananda.

I love it because it is sincere, a quality hard to articulate in writing. You just have to go there.

The spa is slick and professional.

The staff are utterly charming, not simply trained to charm. You change into white linen pyjamas the moment you arrive, and get a fresh pair every evening. Their signature massage is a joy to experience.

I could talk at length about the physical treatments, but I wanted

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to find out if the Ananda was as good for my mental health. Because it struck me that the whole wellness industry seems to avoid mental health issues – sticking to the respectively more tangible and more ephemeral issues of the physical and the spiritual. But as a lifelong suffer of depression and recently diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), I wanted to see if a spa could do anything for my mind.

The spa seemed a little bemused when I asked them to put together a schedule to address my issues. Really, the truth is there

was nothing in particular that spoke to the mind specifically, except the general idea of relaxation, adjusting chakras and energies and alterations to the diet.

On arrival, you have a consultation with a doctor who categorises you as pita, kapha or vata, and thereafter your treatments and diets are based around that, your body type. But there is little for psychological matters.

The best mind food I could find was the twice-daily Vedanta lessons. This is a unique feature I have not come across before – philosophy lessons to help you

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achieve peace of mind. Vedanta is a philosophy that goes back thousands of years, but the teachers here are from the modern Vedanta Academy in Delhi where there is a 90-year-old guru, Swami Parathawarsy, in charge. By contrast, the teacher at the spa looked about 19, but he was charming, funny and very sweet. The Indians have a genius for philosophy and storytelling and he was expert at both.

I attended lectures about marriage, choice, self-control, ego and more besides. The scheme of Vedanta itself seems largely about personal mental discipline, and making sure your intellect is in charge of your passions. Nothing new here, really. I listened in particular to his advice about marriage, having recently got divorced – the other person is always right apparently. If only that had occurred to me at the time.

To tell the truth the most peace of mind I could have had was with some good sleep.

But for some reason, I suffered from insomnia.

I have no idea why. I even changed the pillows (they have that ultimate symbol of decadence, the pillow menu). It was a bit stuffy and I couldn’t open the window because of the monkeys coming in and – well, my imagination stops there. I don’t know what monkeys do to people in the night.

Apart from this, everything was pretty much perfect. I hardly spoke to anyone all week, which was fine by me. The food was

superb. By the end though, I was getting stressed by the amount of relaxation I was required to do. And some of the treatments were vaguely irritating – having oil poured onto your head for 30 minutes as in shirodhara, reminded me too much of getting stuck under my Hillman Imp in the 1970s with a leaking sump.

But the thing is, you do get peace of mind – and even elevation of mind. This isn’t only through meditation and so on, but also – the highlight for me – the visit to Rishikesh for Aarti where they hold a sunset ceremony on the Ganges with children from the local ashram. This was not merely novel and colourful, but deeply moving.

At the end of my stay, I was still feeling a little rough – the lack of sleep had got to me – but I had had wonderful time. Did it help my depression? Well – I’m not depressed. As for the ADD, it’s… where was I? Oh yes, as for the ADD, it’s still there. I think.

But there is a limit to what even the best spa in the world can achieve. And the Ananda may be exactly that.

BOOK IT: Seven-night wellness programmes from around £3,150, based on two sharing, full board. anandaspa.com

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VIVAMAYR Maria Wôrth, Austria

Henry Conway gives his liver a break Toxicity could be my middle name.

Over the past decade and a bit, I have habitually gone to bed at 4am more nights than most and never held back when it comes to a dry Martini or three. So seven days at VivaMayr, where I would be denied all my favourite things, would be anathema to me but no one can accuse me of not being game. The advantage of the Mayr is that it’s like a private hospital – various appointments with a doctor, six blood tests later, and you really do get a full body 360. Even for the most pamperingaverse, you get a proper look over.

It’s a hypercondriac’s dream. My test results were pleasantly surprising – I seem to have a ‘superliver’, hence my rare hangovers despite a level of bacchanalian abuse that would make Caligula blush. It turns out I also have higher than average testosterone – my feather boas are just a ruse… Mornings start with a ‘Kneipp’ – basically stepping from steaming hot buckets of water to icy cold ones (cue small shrieks), all in the name of circulation. Then

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the gut work starts. The Mayr method is based on a ‘healthy gut, healthy body’ theory, so each day also starts with a pre-breakfast Epsom salts drink, which makes you appreciate each room’s bidet.

NEVER do this with a lover. Your meal plan is prescribed by your doctor – balancing protein and carbs, and even though diet food (properly tiny portions), it is delish.

You have to chew everything 40 times, and dress properly for dinner. Oddly though I never felt hungry and nor did I particularly miss alcohol. I did miss caffeine dreadfully – the sleepless headachy third day was all caffeine withdrawal. The rest of your day is punctuated by massages, liver compresses and voluntary exercise. I did Nordic Walking, basically bouncing over the mountains with

sticks. If you are a regular gym-goer, the exercise classes are very gentle; but with your calorie restrictions, that’s for the best.

I came back feeling revived and everyone told me I looked fresher – though most of my friends thought I had been forced into rehab rather than the gentler Mayr.

I didn’t manage to keep up the regime quite as the doctors would have liked – we touched down at Heathrow at 2pm, and by 6.30pm I had a glass of cold Veuve Clicquot in hand. A leopard may not change his spots, but a good detox did kick start a healthier new me, and I now want to go back once a year for an MOT. BOOK IT: Seven days, from €200 per night, plus minimum treatment spend of €1,005. vivamayr.com/en/maria-worth

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

DUBARRY Thornton lightweight waterproof jacket, £189. dubarry.com

ORLEBAR BROWN Bulldog swimming trunks, £145. orlebarbrown.com

EDWARD GREEN Galway boot, £1,225. edwardgreen.com

KULM’S, St Moritz, Switzerland Sam Kinchin-Smith needs to feel he earns his pampering time

We who are about to die, to the steam room!

Despite its unparalleled luxury and glamour – or perhaps because of it – St Moritz is a deathtrap for the aristos and playboys who throw themselves down its historic slopes and tracks.

Unless you’re racing horses on a frozen lake at ‘White Turf’, notching up head-first speeds of 80mph on the Cresta Run, or skiing by moonlight on the Kulm Hotel’s private mountain, you might as well go home. But for those willing to risk life and limb, a reward awaits them at the Kulm Spa. Because the key, in my experience, to relishing an afternoon of wellness, as a male of the species,

is to feel like you’ve earned it. The jackpot, that is. A proper pool, for starters; Jacuzzis and a spectacular open-air whirlpool, too, but it’s the magnificent 20m centrepiece that announces the Kulm’s leading edge. After a serious swim, there’s a reassuringly gadgety, even macho maze of corners to explore – an infrared cabin and a saltwater grotto, Kneipp footpaths and gender-segregated saunas – before your massage. My ‘AktiVital’ treatment zapped both overwork- and snowsport-induced tension with startling precision, in an atmosphere of heated pine, Alpine herbs and total competence.

Adrenaline pumped, then diffused, with my masculinity totally in tact. Perfect.

BOOK IT: Doubles from approx. £504 half board. kulm.com

HANRO Sea Island Cotton PJs, £253. hanro.co.uk

LOUIS VUITTON Avenue backpack, £1,860. uk.louisvuitton.com

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Love yourself, love your gut

T H E S PA G U I D E

GUT REACTION

Recent studies reveal just how much control your gut has over your physical and mental wellbeing, so it’s worth caring for it, says Sophie Benge

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Yoga and meditation help to alleviate stress which can cause gut inflammation

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

H

ave you been feeling sad, even properly depressed?

Emotional issues, science increasingly shows, likely stem from our bellies rather than our brain. When our microbiome, latest health buzz word and formal term for the 2-4kg ‘pool’ of microbes that populate our intestinal tract, is out of balance, so is our state of mind.

We’ve long known that our brains affect our guts – the queasy butterfly tummy before a date – but perhaps our guts have more control on how we feel. The flow of information via neurotransmitters in the intestinal ecosystem that travels up the vagus nerve – our gut-brain axis – can directly influence brain activity.

‘Messages sent in this process flow in both directions, but the majority

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PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

seem to go north from the gut,’ explains Professor Bobby Prasad, a consultant gastroenterologist at London’s Lister Hospital. ‘Changes in the microbe levels might play a role in conditions such as depression, anxiety and even autismspectrum disorders.’

These changes come from a blossoming of bad bacteria over friendly flora that kick off a chain of problems: constipation, bloating and IBS, unexplained weight gain, the tell-tale sign of sugar cravings, even symptoms of arthritis and, more profound, a breakdown of emotional boundaries and self-esteem. When the microbiome is low so are levels of serotonin.

‘We should think of our gut like a rose garden,’ says nutritionist Hannah Richards (hannahrichardswellness.space). ‘If we don’t tend to it, the weeds will grow.’

So she suggests an annual gut MOT starting with a stool test to check the weed levels and types. Her personalised programme for clients includes a supplement regime, a shift in what you eat, how you eat (ideally chewing 30 times per mouthful) and even how you prepare to eat: with regular mealtimes, lovingly prepared.

‘Bodies get very confused and constipated when they don’t know when the next meal is coming,’ she says.

There’s also a case for not eating, for a while at least, because when we give our digestive systems a rest, the body can divert energy into cellular repair.

Dr Nyjon Eccles, of the Natural Doctor in Harley Street, agrees that calorie restriction activates AMPK (adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase), an enzyme that’s shown to stimulate a healthier more youthful metabolism, but one that naturally slows down after the age of 30. He says that the link between metabolic pathways and the anti-ageing effect is an intriguing area of study, proving that eating less can lead to living longer. ‘Also a diet rich in polyphenols, compounds found in a broad range of plant foods, particularly red berries and green tea which encourage growth of healthy bacteria in the bowel,’ he says.

But it’s not all about food. Experts agree that stress of all kinds also affects gut health, even walking, working and being on phone while eating activates our parasympathetic nervous system and so our ability to digest. Mindful practices – yoga, meditation and walking all help, so does a planting a garden, a direct way to encourage more friendly microbes through the mud on our hands!

‘In my experience, ten times out of ten, people with gut issues have an underlying emotional issue,’ says Hannah.

Be good to your gut and it will be good to you.

GOOD GUT TIPS

1

Start each meal with a slug of cloudy apple cider vinegar or bitter vegetables – cress, dandelion, chicory or radicchio – to stimulate digestive enzymes.

2 TOP UK GUT RETREAT

The Bodhimaya Retreat at beautiful Cowdray Park, Sussex is a highly personalised retreat that focuses on gut health as the starting point of overall health.

Guests are under the constant care of a team of nutritionists and can chose whether to fast, juice or eat light meals. ‘Our philosophy is that most things start in the gut,’ says founder Cornelius O’Shaughnessy. ‘We treat the individual biology of our guests and tailor a programme to optimise their health. We’re all about nutrition, TLC and giving people the break they need.’ The retreat includes meditation, yoga, spa treatments, acupuncture, walks and gut health talks. With an almost equal staffguest ration you’re guaranteed to get exactly what you want and need. bodhimaya.com

Bodhimaya retreat at glorious Cowdray Manor

READING LIST THE BEST POSSIBLE YOU Hannah Richards explains what it may look or feel like if any one of your organs is out of balance. £14.99. Orion Spring BE GOOD TO YOUR GUT Eve Kalinik’s excellent book is full of real, doable tips to feel better. £20. Piatkus

GUT Medic Giula Enders guides you through the gut in layman’s terms. £12.99.

Scribe UK

THE GUT MAKEOVER Jeannette Hyde’s four-week eating plan to restore health and lose weight. £9.99.

Quercus

Chew, chew, chew – the more work the teeth do the less the digestive system has to do.

3

Drink 20 minutes before a meal, not while eating, it dilutes the digestive enzymes.

4

Take raw white cabbage juice shots (juicing is best) or eat cabbage generally. It contains L-glutamine which repairs gut tissue.

5

Eat fermented foods such as yoghurt, keffir, kimchi, kombucha, pickles and miso which contain live bacteria that help reinoculate the gut and curb carb and sugar cravings.

6

Make chicken broth. The collagen (especially in the claws), protein and gelatine heals the gut lining.

7

Get your hands dirty: nature’s own bacteria on our skin is good for boosting ours.

8

Eat inulin-rich foods such as leeks, onion, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke – they are not broken down by gastric juices so act as food for beneficial gut bacteria.

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T H E S PA G U I D E

UNDER DOCTOR’S ORDERS Give yourself a full body MOT

ESPACE CHENOT AT L’ALBERETA Brescia, Italy

A serious regime from Henri Chenot, the king of Italy’s detoxing, may not be what you first expect from this glorious Relais & Châteaux hotel close to Milan. Usually Italy means exceptional food – and there are temptations nearby. But a dedicated restaurant for those on ‘the cure’ and a super busy spa timetable make things easier. Days are peppered with treatments. Energy-giving acupuncture and Chinese cupping massages focus on rebooting your meridians, and daily hydro-jet baths and mud wraps are designed to break down fatty tissue, stimulate the lymphatic system and aid deep body cleansing. Powdered magnesium, which acts as a laxative also helps, as does the one-day liquid broth cleanse.

Otherwise, three course meals satisfy all your senses (though they are tiny), and you should swim, walk, hit the gym, sleep, read, sleep some more, so as not to notice the hunger. Some guests lose up to half a stone in a week, and the nutritionists really help you crack not just your physical needs, but your emotional approach to food, which – let’s face it – needs work in most of us. It’s all about banning guilt and enjoying different flavours and textures in every meal.

BOOK IT: Healing Holidays offers seven nights in a double room from £3,675pp, including transfers and full-board detox programme. healingholidays.co.uk

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LANSERHOF LANS Lans, Austria

Lanserhof Lans is no arriviste. Ensconced in an idyllic Tyrolean village, it was converted from hotel to clinic in 1984, only the second in Europe after the original FX Mayr Health Centre. This year, it emerged from the chrysalis of a £25m refurbishment by Christoph Ingenhoven. Everywhere, those gorgeous mountains have been unveiled, plus a new bathhouse with a pool that has a salt content hovering at 3.5 per cent, and new cryotherapy chamber. Its practice, built organically over decades, is detoxification

and de-acidification of the body through gut cleansing rituals. Like all Mayr Clincs, it offers that magical fusion of cutting-edge medicinal diagnostics and traditional holistic healing. You can come post-chemo to have infusions to strengthen the immune system; to re-start your gut health, to eat healthily and play golf, or to rest and have some pampering. It’s perfect for anyone with white-coat syndrome, as it doesn’t feel like a clinic – more slick hideaway.

BOOK IT: Seven-day Med Basic package, from €1,727, excluding accommodation. lanserhof.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

LONGSTAFF LONGSTAFF Paisley silk robe, £680. longstafflongstaff.com

PARK IGLS, Igls, Austria

‘It’s not what you eat, it’s when you eat and how you eat it,’ were just some of the wise words imparted by Dr Peter Gartner at Park Igls, an impeccable Mayr cure-based retreat. And if you come away with anything (apart from a tighter tummy and renewed vigor), it is knowledge, and knowledge is power. The (minimum) seven days are really a process of re-education. Learning to realise when you’re full, the key to food mixing, not eating late at night and chewing obsessively will be the new foundations to your relationship with food. Recent medical research has even found that neurodegenerative diseases such as

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s start in the gut, so it’s well worth paying attention. And if the doctors do find something more sinister going on, you’ll be whisked off for an MRI at nearby Innsbruck Hospital. Add in the glorious mountains of the Austrian Tyrol (walking and skiing aplenty), a daily regime of exercise, kneipping, lectures, films and special excursions – interspersed with herbal teas, broth and delicate portions of nutritious food (depending on which ‘stage’ you’re on), boredom is not an option. A future full of vital energy and health is, so grab it.

BOOK IT: The Mayr Classic Programme is €1,254, plus €153 per night in a single room. park-igls.com

SOMERVILLE Pyjamas, £75. somervillescarves.com

NEAL’S YARD Lavender bath salts, £14.50. nealsyardremedies.com

VILLA STEPHANIE Baden-Baden, Germany

Nestled in the heart of the Black Forest in the historic spa town of Baden-Baden, the progressive Villa Stéphanie spa (just next door to Brenners Park Hotel) covers medical, emotional and fitness issues, as well as aesthetic ones. Whether you’re checking in for an annual health check or a specific detox or fitness programme, there’s a 360° approach to getting well. The ‘full Monty’ includes having every ounce of your being analysed (body scan, brain scan, spine, heart, bloods…). On top of that, there’s an intense nutritional and

body analysis (protein, body fat, intracellular water etc), followed by a prescribed reparative programme that includes vitamin infusions and other treatments for your body’s needs. Don your robe and slippers and your day will be a rotation between doctors’ appointments, a relaxing hammam and massage, a spot of light yoga, and then back to your room for a detox supper (always early) where you can select a pillow from the pillow menu for the ultimate night’s sleep.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €500 room only.

Prices for individual treatments vary. oetkercollection.com

CHINTI & PARKER Cashmere onesie, £595. net-a-porter.com

BIRKENSTOCK X RICK OWENS Arizona sandals, £280. birkenstock.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

DIG YOUR DOSHA

For eastern healing, look no further than these ayurvedic experts

SHANTI MAURICE RESORT & SPA, Mauritius

This island resort remains a magnet for die-hard ayurvedies. With one of Mauritius’ best views, just gazing out onto the starlit sea generates enough ‘om’ to send you in to a meditative slumber. Shanti Spa is one of the largest in the Indian Ocean and ancient practices of ayurveda and yoga are fused with cutting-edge wellness regimes. Airy treatment rooms circle lily ponds encased with tropical foliage, creating a horizontal haven. As well as traditional ayurvedic offerings, Shanti Dhara is one of the most popular choices from the Indian treatment list. Designed to relax the nervous system, the full-body, synchronised four-hands massage is followed by a blissful stream of warm herbal oils. An hour in and chakras are balanced to a state of pure nirvana.

The cuisine is pretty hard to fault – head to Stars for ocean views and posh nosh; Fish Shack does a tasty rustic beachside BBQ; and La Kaze Mama serves up authentic Mauritian homestyle treats in a gorgeous outdoor setting. The laidback Rum Shed is the place to enjoy a sundowner. All suites and villas among the 36 acres of fragrant tropical gardens offer private pools, outdoor rain showers and dining pavilions or ‘salas’, with breathtaking ocean views. Interiors are fluid and spacious. Large windows allow the sunshine to soak through.

BOOK IT: Junior suites from €450 B&B. shantimaurice.com

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SURYA LANKA AYURVEDA BEACH RESORT Talalla, Sri Lanka Head here if you don’t want to break the bank and fancy ayurveda – most do an intensive panchakarma cleanse – beside a golden beach. A sari-clad doctor will diagnose your dosha and select your therapies – so plead ‘stress’ to bag a shirodhara of warm oil dribbled on your forehead to banish those incessant thoughts. Bedrooms are simple – with mosquito-netted beds and ceiling fans. You’ll waft around in a batik sarong

and towel turban – allowing that herbal scalp paste to do its thing – practise yoga, and eat under palm trees amid monkeys and iguanas. If you’re not nibbling according to doctor’s orders, you’ll feast on excellent buffets – fragrant coconut soups, mango curry and lentil pancakes.

Fall asleep to the sound of the Indian Ocean and awaken to the tuktuk mobile bakery tinkling in the village behind.

Leave rejuvenated, with your dosha as balanced as a tightrope walker.

BOOK IT: From £140 full board, including all ayurvedic treatments.suryalanka.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

IN-GRID Oversized shirt, £360. in-grid.co

SOUKYA Bangalore, India

When your GP can’t help you and you feel like there is nowhere else to turn, head to Bangalore, the garden city of India. Founded by the esteemed Dr Issac Mathai (whose full title comes with a host of reassuring initials) and his nutritionalist wife, Suja Issac, Soukya is a yogic healing haven set amid 30 acres of organic fruit orchards and herb gardens. The 12 pretty cottages have open fires, hand-carved beds and private meditation areas. Many a guest (including the Duchess of York, George Harrison and Sting) have come to address health issues that

modern medicine can’t help them with. Soukya offers visitors access to a range of medical and complementary treatments as needed, including modern psychotherapy for addiction, state-ofthe-art MRI scans and, of course, India’s most ancient health system – ayurveda. Treatments such as abhyanga (a two-handed massage with warm oil) and shirodhara (when hot oil is dripped gently and constantly on your third eye) help to ease and release tired bodies and clear chaotic minds. Don’t-miss activities include full moon meditations and cookery demos.

BOOK IT: Doubles from $195pp full board. soukya.com

PIPPA HOLT Kaftan, £695. boutique1.com

BAMFORD Balasana essential oil, £25. bamford.co.uk

ATMANTAN Pune, India

Located about three hours south of Mumbai, in a ridiculously pretty valley, deep in the Sahyadri mountains (renowned for their healing, crystalline properties) and overlooking the serene waters of the Mulshi Lake, the aim at Atmantan is to combine traditional Indian healing practices with a variety of international therapies and western fitness techniques. The end result is a transformative healing of mind, body and soul. Your ayurvedic doctor will put together a programme according to your dosha, including a customised diet from the delicious spa restaurant

(cooked using ingredients from their own organic farms) and a schedule of treatments and exercise. Days pass by happily in a restorative blur of kriyas, massage treatments, yoga, infrared saunas, juices and evening meditation. Rooms are modern, spacious and chic with beautiful views over the lake and herb and butterfly-filled gardens. You might, however, want to go incognito in the remote luxury villa (beloved by Mumbai’s elite), which has its own pool, kitchen and private gym for the ultimate secluded pampering.

BOOK IT: Three-day packages, from £890. atmantan.com

HOMEBODY Flippy shorts, £90. homebody.co.uk

VALENTINO Silk headband, £220. net-a-porter.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

MIND OVER MATTER Treading the spiritual path can lead to better health in mind and body

YOGA ROSA Santa Eularia, Ibiza

A decidedly quieter experience of the party island. Come to Yoga Rosa for daily two-hour morning yoga classes and meditation in the evening. Rosa is your teacher and she is passionate, authentic and works from the heart.

Having recovered from a near-death accident, she now shares the tools she acquired with guests, and her feelbetter magic can help shift you out of a rut. Her yoga is accessible to all, and while the hour’s meditation may be challenging to begin with, the pace and methods used are varied enough that you’ll cope better than you might think. This is yoga as a philosophy, not a sport – and Rosa’s intention is to balance intellect with instinct.

Meals are decadent and nourishing – taken as a group – and consist of a hearty brunch (eggs, porridges, the best tomatoes and avocado), followed by an early evening supper overlooking the setting sun. The chef carefully calibrates everything, and you barely realise you’ve gone vegan.

Some days are allocated for silence and digital detoxing. Relish the metime and rediscover your inner world. Meanwhile there are beaches and markets to explore (if you hire a car), or you can hunker down on the estate with its two pools, pigs and chickens. The sunshine is healing in itself. A real find.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €250, allinclusive. yogarosaretreats.com

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AMANYANGYUN Shanghai, China

The first spa to open after Aman’s new push into wellness is an impressive 2,840 sq/m, has ten treatment rooms and stateof-the-art gym; a yoga and pilates studio; suites for reflexology and hydrotherapy and bathhouses with a Russian banya and a hammam. With immersions in place which free you of stress, unwanted kilos or an imbalance between your ying and yang, this is somewhere where you should linger.

Your doctor in traditional oriental medicine will diagnose a course of action which might

include acupuncture, will definitely include meditation and either tai chi or qigong.

Body treatments are divided into grounding, purifying and nourishing. Nutrition and diet are also discussed and a menu created for you which can be adhere to whether you are eating in the Chinese, Japanese or Italian restaurant. Transformation is the aim of the game here, with a team dedicated to imparting the sort of knowledge that helps you maintain balance in your lifestyle, mind over matter indeed.

BOOK IT: Doubles from approx. £674 B&B, plus taxes. aman.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

ATHENA PROCOPIOU Sundown Breeze fringed silk kimono, £395. boutique1.com

FOUR SEASONS BALI AT SAYAN, Indonesia

The journey begins as soon as you arrive at the resort – over the lush valley via an Indiana Jonesstyle wooden sky-bridge and into a reception area like a sleek modern spaceship landed in the jungle. The spa itself nestles near the sacred Ayung River, lost in the rice paddies and verdant grounds dotted with soaring palms and fragrant frangipani. While it offers all the holistic beauty treatments you’d expect, it is in its bid to pamper the inner – as well as the outer – that it shines. The clue to this is in the bright eyes of the therapists. Conceived as a journey inward,

the spa’s menu offers innovative treatments that concentrate on each chakra in turn. For those who like their spirituality more actively delivered, there is yoga, meditation, healing and dharma talks, as well as fabulous anti-gravity yoga.

And on hand is the resident former Buddhist nun who oversees perhaps the most extraordinary treatment: the sacred nap. Cocooned in a silk hammock hanging in the middle of rice paddies, you are gently rocked as the sounds of nature and a story gently told lull you to sleep.

Relaxation as you have never known it.

BOOK IT: Doubles from $540 room only. fourseasons.com

SEP JORDAN Cashmere shawl, £350. sepjordan.com

MAYA & ME Lana trousers, £150. meandmaya.co.uk

CHABLÉ RESORT & SPA Chocholá, Mexico

To the Mayans, cenotes (natural swimming holes) were sacred, so it makes sense that the spa at this stunning new 750-acre Yucatán resort is built around one. Dip into the complimentary daily programme of classes and you might find yourself practising early morning zen meditation or full moon yoga. Or book in for a treatment in one of the wooden cabins with a cenote-facing balcony. The Mayan herbal compress massage, where herbs grown onsite are combined with organic oils to ease muscle tension, leaves you floating. Tucked away in the forest is the temazcal

or ‘sweat lodge’ for anyone wanting a deeper, more soul-searching experience. It’s not for the faint hearted (literally – as volcanic rocks are heated to up to 1,000°C) or those who are claustrophobic (you sit in the igloo-shaped lodge in the dark), but it can be incredibly emotionally cleansing as chanting and gentle questioning by a shaman help you recall some of your earliest feelings. The joy of this place is that it is more about balance than deprivation.

A magical haven to unplug and reconnect.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £835 B&B (chableresort.com). Return flights via Mexico City from £547.57 (aeromexico.com)

RAE FEATHER Deborah monogram pom pom basket, £210. raefeather.com

KIN LIINI Sandals, £65. johnlewis.com

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Feeling great at Masseria San Domenico

T H E S PA G U I D E

ART OF THE RE-TOX

We’ve all been there, piling on the pounds after we’ve worked so hard to shed them, so how do you really keep the long-lasting benefits of a spa detox? Annie Bell has some answers

T

he very last day of any spa experience or detox is like reaching the top of a mountain.

Boy does it feel good. You haven’t felt this clear-headed, determined and svelte for months. If only it could last for the rest of your life.

And so, as you set off back down the mountain, you vow to keep up the good work of the last few days.

The reality, of course, is that depending on the path you take, you may find yourself back to square one in anything from a week to about a month. The chances are that hardwon feelgood factor is likely to ebb almost without you realising, until you reach a point where it feels like it’s time to set off back to a spa to regain it. For the seasoned detoxer, this cycle is not dissimilar to yo-yo dieting, when in truth what we should all be aiming for is a little less perfection and a few better

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Presented beautifully: protein at Tokyo’s Hoshinoya

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habits. We may not be able to live our lives at the high octane bliss we experience at the end of a spa break, but if we can find a realistic path where the majority of our habits are good ones, we are doing well. So instead of setting yourself an impossible range of targets, I would keep just five considerations in mind.

SMALL CHANGE BIG DIFFERENCE

This may sound like a cliché, but rarely is it more apt than when applied to our diet. For most people, weight gain has less to do with eating mounds of junk food and takeaways every night, than the slow but insipid creep of extra kilos that come with an additional 200-300 calories a day.

If you think of the myriad ways you might incur that energy, it becomes apparent just how easy it is to trim them. If you have small children, for instance, one habit is having a nibble of whatever you happen to be feeding them. A tablespoon of Greek yoghurt with honey, a fish finger and splodge of mash, a spoonful of ice cream, a corner of buttered toast with jam, adds up in no time.

And who can resist a taste (or three) of whatever they are cooking. So as you get back into the daily routine, be aware of these little habits.

Once broken, we rarely miss them.

Cooking with gut health in mind at VivaMayr

WEEKLY NOT DAILY

It is all too easy to beat yourself up when you first diverge from the clean habits of a detox. This can be the beginning of an unhealthy relationship with treat foods, which in reality will always be a part of our lives. So instead of judging yourself meal by meal, try to observe your diet over the period of a week. The slice of chocolate fudge cake you enjoyed at a friend’s birthday will be less of a cause of guilt if you see it as seven small bites.

If you happen to go out for a three-course blowout supper, fine, just eat less over the next couple of days and it will average out.

Delicious and nutritious at Valsana, Switzerland

VEG FOR BREAD

Bread is so often the first line of convenience for a snack, or partner to a bowl of soup. Full of salt, high in carbs and most likely refined, and that is before we get to the butter. But, there are any number of lovely veggie options that will stand in, especially with dips or a sliver of cheese, or with a splodge of nut butter or miso. As well as crudités, cooked spears of asparagus and fine green beans, or some roast or grilled veg will make for a luxurious stand-in. My own treat is slices of roast aubergine that make a great base for bruschettas and the like.

SUGAR TRAPS

PROTEIN SNACKS

Aside from trying to limit energy intake there is no logic in limiting snacks or suggesting a dietary regime. If you are someone who prefers to eat little and often rather than three times a day, a grazer for whom large meals are unappetising,

you may even be placing yourself at an advantage, by avoiding the spikes in insulin that tend to accompany large meals.

So if snacking throughout the day is what works for you, there is no reason to change. The secret is to include a little protein, which will lead to a sense of feeling well-nourished. With the highest satiety index among the macronutrients, quite simply it reduces your appetite.

The Caudalie spa and pool in France

Even if we think we have given up sugar, by avoiding chocolate, cake and fizzy drinks, it is the hidden or expected sources that are most likely to catch us out and drive up our energy intake.

Smoothies, in particular, count as ‘free sugars’ or those to be limited, some contain a small basket of fruit (but without the benefits of whole fruit); cartons of juice are little better. Other sugar traps are ready-made foods, of all types. In the region of 75 per cent of off-the-shelf products have added sugar. Again, frequently where you least expect to find it, in nuts and savoury snacks, pasta sauces and salad dressing, chilled dips, yoghurts, and preserved fish. So the guideline here is to buy as much fresh produce as possible.

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T H E S PA G U I D E

WATERWORLD

After all ‘spa’ is short for salus per aqua – health through water

MASSERIA SAN DOMENICO Puglia, Italy

Once used by the Knights of Malta as a watchtower during the Ottoman wars, this 15th-century farmhouse in Puglia is now a white-washed picture of peace, an impeccably chic hideaway with a fabulous thalassotherapy spa. Thalasso means ‘sea’ in Greek and this serene retreat has come up trumps in harnessing the healing power of marine water.

Everything is tackled here: dropping the pounds, shifting cellulite, skin conditions, or simply recharging your batteries. There’s a dizzying array of treatments to get stuck into such as hydro massages with seawater jets to boost circulation, detoxifying seaweed wraps, sea salt scrubs with essential oils and the revitalising algotherapy, where your entire body is covered in pulverised seaweed.

Don’t miss the aquabiking (spinning in water) – hardcore but great for toning. Food focuses on a lowcalorie Mediterranean diet. But there’s no deprivation here – just fresh, local ingredients with generous smatterings of the hotel’s own olive oil (the sea bass mille-feuille is a must). Afterwards, flop in one of the ornate first-floor suites – vast with views of the sparkling Adriatic.BOOK IT: Doubles from €330 B&B, with three-day thalasso programmes starting from €360pp. masseriasandomenico.com

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OLD COURSE HOTEL St Andrews, Scotland

You might only have had reason to visit Old Course Hotel near Edinburgh for the golf; now you can add lavish – not to mention vast – new spa as a seductive draw, so couples can feel equally spoilt (the hotel spent £8m bringing the space up to scratch). Water is at the heart of its healing ethos (it is located by the sea, after all), with a hydrotherapy pool, cold plunge pool, buttock-clenching ice fountain and a 20m swimming pool as just some of the watery attractions. Thirteen treatment rooms offer

mineral-rich seaweed or spiced peat wraps, anti-oxidant facials and hot stone massages, as well as a host of specific ‘bathing’ rituals.

Lying in bliss looking out of the floor-toceiling windows at that epic coastline, this is the perfect spa for those who appreciate the therapeutic elements of nature – from a comfortable distance, although a bracing walk in all that wildness will also do you the world of good. Just book in for their signature Tranquility pro-sleep massage and a roof-top hot tub session afterwards.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £150 B&B. oldcoursehotel.co.uk

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

CAMILLA Short dress, £542. harrods.com

HOSHINOYA TOKYO Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo’s only luxury ryokan (Japanese inn) cocoons you in calm from the moment you step through its 300-year-old cypress doors. You slip off your shoes (to be stored in intricate chestnut and bamboo boxes) and pad about in hushed reverence, feeling the feng shui. Tatami mat floors, washi paper walls and delicate shoji screens create the typical ryokan ambience, complemented by subtle five-star services. The hot USP is the open-air onsen (hot spring bath) on the 17th floor: it draws mineral-rich, ancient

seawater from 1,500 metres below street level.

If you visit at night, you will bathe naked (as is the custom) in the 40°C water beneath an inky sky, the seductively lit high granite walls reducing the city’s cacophony to a low rumble. With your core revitalised by the onsen, a shiki treatment therapist will massage your body with fragrant oils and two warm balls made from rice cake and ground, steamed Japanese herbs.

BOOK IT: Original Travel offers a 14-night trip to Japan, including three nights at Tokyo Hoshinoya, from £4,600pp, including flights. originaltravel.co.uk

LAZUL Swimsuit, £240. selfridges.com

ERIC BOMPARD Short-sleeved cashmere sweater, £150. eric-bompard.com

DAS CENTRAL Sölden, Austria

From the warm ‘Grüss Gott’ on arrival to awardwinning restaurants (one featured in a Bond movie) and the three-storey Water World Venezia, Das Central is a glistening oasis of wellness in the Austrian Alps. The Venetianinspired Water World comes complete with an indoor pool, a plethora of saunas, steam baths and water beds, and its very own gondola. At the Spa & Wellness Residence, 16 treatment rooms play host to holistic massages, scrubs and classic beauty treatments. The resort is also ripe for adventure seekers – in addition to 429 hectares

of pistes, there’s a Technogym and fitness programmes. Rooms are fresh, bright and airy, fusing clean lines with Tyrolean touches, views of the Ötztal mountains are standard in most, with wellbeing suites featuring in-room saunas.

Culinary delights are prepared by Gottfried Prantl – the award-winning chef who rustles up delicious local delicacies such as river trout and potatoes grown in hay. There’s also an impressive fine wine cellar, with 30,000 bottles, should you like a little of what you fancy.

BOOK IT: Three-night spa package half board, from €885pp. central-soelden.com

HEIDI KLEIN Maya Bay espadrilles £150. heidiklein.com

PLAGE BY PAPER LONDON Shell bikini, £140. paperlondon.com

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Forest bathing is a proven tonic for the soul and free to boot

T H E S PA G U I D E

INTO THE WOODS

Forget forking out for a swanky spa, all you really need is a walk in the woods. Adriaane Pielou reports on the Japanese tradition of forest bathing making its way westwards

J

ust saying… you don’t have to spend a vast amount on treatments to relax and rejuvenate. Or spend anything, really. Forest bathing is therapy for free. Trees, the dear trusty things, are increasingly proven by science to be actively beneficial to our health – and in more ways than ever suspected. So forget expensive massages and just let a tree or two do its calming, curative thing.

Forest bathing was born in Japan, where Shinto reverence for the natural world is culturally ingrained. In 1982 Japanese scientists discovered that being among trees – walking in a wood, leaning against the bark, hugging a tree – measurably reduces stress and blood pressure. Three minutes’ exposure, they discovered, is all it takes before levels start to fall.

The research prompted the Forest Agency of Japan to launch a preventative health programme of shinrin-yoku, ‘taking in the forest atmosphere’ by bathing one’s entire being, body, soul and psyche in the fragrance of a forest.

From 2004 to 2012, a $4m Japanese research programme discovered trees emit phytoncides, airborne aromatic oils that ward off potentially damaging insects and bacteria, and that

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inhaling these phytoncides has a beneficial effect on human immune systems, too, boosting natural anti-cancer killer cells and improving resistance to bacteria and viruses.

In response to the results Japan launched a country-wide network of Forest Therapy Trails, with equipment en route allowing walkers to measure their blood pressure, pulse and skin temperature before and after a walk, and logs are strategically placed along the trails for lying down to meditate among the trees. Today, the restorative power of forest bathing and spending time in nature is recognised around the world.

Forest bathing doesn’t mean going into a wood and stripping off and stretching out. Not necessarily, anyway. It’s enough just to be among trees, consciously, mindfully enjoying them through every sense the sight, scent, sound and sensation of the forest, breathing deeply, stroking bark, watching the play of light, enjoying the woody fragrance and listening to birdsong.

And, if walking in a wood is good for you, sleeping in a forest, with a window open to the stillness and the silence and the phytonicides, is even better.

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FIVE HOTELS WITH FORESTS JURMALA SPA HOTEL, Latvia

The forest covering over 50 per cent of Latvia runs right down to the beach at Jurmala, 30 minutes outside Riga.

A 15-minute drive into the forest reveals a wooden walkway where you can squelch barefoot through miles of shallow bog, inhaling the scent of the pines. Afterwards, at nearby Valguma Pasaule, a traditional Latvian sauna lets you sweat in 85°C heat before plunging into the forest lake.

Birch-twig beating optional. Four nights B&B, with flights, from £510. balticholidays.com

ARASHIYAMA BAMBOO FOREST, Kyoto LEVI SPIRIT VILLAS, Finland

Finland is the most forested country in Europe, with 73 per cent of its land still covered by trees (Britain has just 12 per cent). Twenty minutes outside the ski resort of Levi in Finnish Lapland, the nine glass-andpine villas are pure Arctic chic, with five bedrooms, open fires, sauna, treatment room for in-villa massages, and floorto-ceiling windows looking out over thousands of miles of birch, spruce and pine.

From £1,510 per night for five people including a private guide. originaltravel.co.uk

SAN LUIS, South Tyrol, Italy

High in the Italian Alps, forest treehouses and epic antique-wood chalets by a mountain lake provide a serene setting for healthy holidays at this remote alpine hotel. Think miles of pines, headily fragrant air and, when you’re back from your forest hike, open fires, your own private sauna, plus clubhouse, thrilling indoor/outdoor pools, a hot-tub sunk into the jetty, and a spa. From £185, full board. sanluis-hotel.com

The epicentre of forest bathing is Kyoto’s otherworldly Arashiyama, above the TenryuJi Temple – beautiful, but with a tarmacked lane running through it and very crowded, it’s best and emptiest around dawn. Exploring the woods surrounding some of the ancient city’s other 1,600 temples, however, takes you into enchanting mossy worlds where you can walk alone, drinking in the utmost beauty. Doubles at Celestine Gion (pictured), from £172.55 (celestinehotels.jp).

Return flights with JAL from £838 (jal.com)

WEEKEND WOODY RETREATS IN BRITAIN

Devoted to upmarket spots with atmosphere, Cool Places has a whole section on hotels in woodland. The 24-rooom Montagu Arms (pictured), for instance, is deep in the New Forest. Within seconds of leaving the fireside you’re crunching along a winding woodland path in the footsteps of one-time guest Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

And in the Nadder Valley, Wiltshire, the nine-room Howard’s House is the ultimate forest hideaway. Doubles at both from about £190. coolplaces.co.uk

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T H E S PA G U I D E

THE GREAT OUTDOORS There’s nothing like nature to soothe the senses

TIERRA ATACAMA HOTEL & SPA Chile

Check into your private villa at Tierra Atacama, with views of the Licancabur Volcano bordering Bolivia, and take time to stop and gaze: it might be the only time you stand still here.

On arrival, your own private adventure concierge will run through the extensive excursion options – choose from climbing volcanos, mountain biking, horseback riding, hikes, stargazing in the desert and visiting the iconic Atacama salt flats and Chaxa lagoon to learn about the three species of flamingo endemic to this area.

You can keep yourself active from dawn ’til dusk – and at an altitude of 2,408m you’ll be keeping fit, too – but make time for the Uma Spa. There are indoor and outdoor pools, a Jacuzzi and hot tub, yoga classes three mornings a week and a host of signature treatments using local products. The Tierra Ritual is a mustdo – a full-body exfoliation using desert salts and chocolate, a desert clay and chocolate body mask, the most gloriously comprehensive massage and some reiki.

BOOK IT: The Ultimate Travel Company offers an 11-day break from £4,905, including all flights, transfers and a stopover in Santiago. ultimatetravelcompany.co.uk

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AMAN LE MELEZIN Courchevel, France

All the hassle normally associated with skiing vanishes as soon as you step over the threshold of the newly refurbished alpine Aman. In the spacious ski room, obliging Frenchmen ease your feet into boots fitted by the in-house rental service, before you walk the few steps onto the slopes where your skis await. After a long day on the mountain, don a fluffy robe and slippers, and pad down the parquet-floored corridors to the new spa area with St-Just aqua glass panelling. Two further underground floors were dug out in the 2016 refurbishment

to accommodate five treatment rooms (including a Thai massage suite), a yoga studio for pre-ski sessions and a wellness area featuring a sauna, steam room and plunge pool – brilliant for reducing swelling and lactic acid build-up. A 14-metre lap pool and gym with state-of-the-art equipment are available for those wanting to get their heart-rate up. Eat at the new Nama for sublime sushi, before sinking into an enormous bed, with views of the Bellecote piste below, and dreaming of the first lift.

BOOK IT: Seven nights from £3,799 half board, including flights and transfers with The Oxford Ski Company. oxfordski.com

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ASHFORD CASTLE Co Mayo, Ireland

Once home to the Guinness family, Ashford Castle, perched on the edge of Lough Corrib, is straight out of a fairytale with its ancient stone turrets, glorious gardens and peerless setting.

Following a meticulous, multi-million-pound refurb in 2014, inside it’s all four-poster beds, sumptuous décor, suits of armour and Irish wolfhounds lolling in front of roaring fires.

The last piece in the renovation jigsaw was the spa, which was unveiled in 2015. Ashford is Ireland’s first hotel to work with Spanish luxury skincare brand Natura Bissé and on the menu are impeccable treatments such as the Diamond Rose Body ritual which leaves you fully rejuvanated and silky smooth. There are also Elemis facials, seaweed leaf wraps and the spa’s very own PureFlow system, which uses counterpulsation technology to improve circulation and oxygenation while detoxifying. But there’s also fresh air aplenty in the 350 acres, with activities like falconry, stand-up paddle boarding and fishing. Afterwards, feast on slow roasted rib of beef from the carving trolley in the glorious George V dining room before retiring to your room fit for a king. Bliss.

BOOK IT: From €400 B&B. ashfordcastle.com

NIHI SUMBA Sumba, Indonesia

This elegant eco-hotel on the remote island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia is famous for its private wave, Nihiwatu, on which only ten surfers are allowed at any one time. But that’s not all that’s on offer here – choose from galloping a thoroughbred along the private beach, yoga in an airy pavilion with breathtaking 360° views over surrounding tropical forest and rice fields, paddle-boarding, deep-sea fishing or visiting local villages. While there’s a spa in the hotel, don’t miss the NihiOka Spa Safari, a 90-minute trek through rolling countryside and rice fields followed by a healthy breakfast cooked on a wood fire accompanied by fresh coconut water and pots of coffee before enjoying a half or full-day spa in a private, cliff-side room with as many treatments as you can fit in. Afterwards, instead of taking a shower, plunge yourself into the surf on the beach below. Go to sleep in your thatched, private villa listening to the sound of waves crashing on the beach below, happy in the knowledge that money spent staying here goes directly into improving the wellbeing of the community via the hotel’s Sumba Foundation.

BOOK IT: Audley Travel offers an eight-night trip from £5,442pp. audleytravel.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

XENIA DESIGN Top, £155. julesb.co.uk

KURHOTEL SKODSBORG Denmark

Just a 25-minute drive from the centre of Copenhagen, this hidden gem – formerly a sanatorium – is home to Denmark’s largest and most enticing spa. Founded in 1898

by Dr Carl Ottosen, the hotel has a long history of promoting healthy living. Today the Scandichic state-of-the-art fitness and wellness facilities offer daily yoga classes with the gloriously picturesque 1,000-acre, deer-filled Gribskov Forest as their backdrop. The SaunaGus is the signature treatment where gutsy guests are

steamed in a sauna before taking the plunge into almost-freezing water from the private jetty. Invigorating and not for the faint-hearted.

The chef’s table by Erik Kroun is a don’t-miss gastronomic journey. In keeping with the overall vision, each course is complemented by a fresh juice (or wine pairing if you prefer). With simple Nordic traditions at the core of this hotel’s philosophy you’ll find mini hot water bottles tucked into your bed at night in rooms that have high ceilings, muted palettes and standalone bath tubs. Sophisticated but cosy. A real find.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £167 B&B. skodsborg.dk

ALEX EAGLE X TROY Eagle parka, £865. troylondon.com

GENEVIEVE SWEENEY Elsa jumper, £180. genevievesweeney.com

PREIDLHOF South Tyrol, Italy

The hills are alive… with a brand new six-storey spa tower joining a renovated five-star spa hotel long visited by savvy Italians and Germans, 10km from the historical spa town of Merano and within easy reach of the Val Senales glacier.

New rooms have balconies with double day beds overlooking the cloud-hugged mountains of the Vinschgau Valley, where Nordic walking sets you off to a good start. Follow a session in the hills or post ski with a life-changing deep tissue massage, followed by a health check and the comedy icing on the cake to us Brits: a sauna

show. With six different saunas, some with glass walls overlooking that invigorating view, Marcus, the handsome spa maestro performs a sauna infusion to classical music sporting a toweling kilt; prudish Brits are allowed the same to avoid what they refer to as ‘free willy’.

The restaurant serves a truly gourmet menu full of local specialities – still healthy but indulgent too – as well as a more restricted version for serious spa goers. Forget fitness and health for a bit and whizz around the local village on one of the resort’s canary yellow Vespas.

BOOK IT: Three nights full board with four treatments, from £1,125pp. healingholidays.co.uk

ME V ME Lotus leggings, £90. mevme.co.uk

& OTHER STORIES Nike SF Air Force 1, £165. stories.com

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The Moisturiser.

Discover the secret to deeply replenished skin and renewed radiance. The iconic Dr Sebagh Rose de Vie Serum instantly and intensively moisturises without clogging pores, calms redness, smoothes skin and leaves it glowing. At the heart of the Dr Sebagh Serum Bar (visit drsebagh.com/serum-bar), use this versatile super-serum alone or mixed with any serum or moisturiser.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

NICE ’N’ EASY

A short-haul flight means you can be on the massage table before you can say, ‘full body, please’

HÔTEL DE CRILLON, Paris, France

As Paris’s most exclusive address, bar none, it is only fitting that the recently re-opened Hôtel de Crillon should, under its new Rosewood management, offer a sensational spa behind its magnificent 18thcentury, neo-classical façade. Find it at the end of the long, narrow, art-filled hall, past the gilded heritage ceiling of Les Ambassadeurs Bar, where you should stop for a Paris Mule cocktail, before continuing on down to a long swimming pool, its floor glittering with 17,600 gold scales, and walls covered by a mural from noted ceramicist Peter Lane. Beyond are the treatment rooms; pearly white-on-white with marble floors and tranquil tones, with separate showers and dressing rooms complete with jewellery boxes.

Choice of products include French brand EviDenS de Beauté, acclaimed for its anti-aging properties, creator of bespoke facial 360˚ Global AntiAge Ritual, and the renowned Maison Caulières, which draws on the 250 years of knowledge acquired through its cultivation of plants. But not to be missed is a massage with the brilliant Fernando and the sweet almond balm created by Kos Paris for the spa. Afterwards float upwards on cloud nine to dine on oysters and champagne at the Brasserie d’Aumont and imagine for a moment that you are Marie-Antoinette.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €1,110 B&B. rosewoodhotels.com

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HOTEL LES OTTOMANS Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul gives good value for flight time: within just a few hours you can be zipping down the Bosphorus by speedboat, bisecting Europe and Asia, and marvelling at the city’s countless spoils. Hotel Les Ottomans may be a touch gaudy at first glance, but it soon reveals its distinctly Turkish delights: spacious suites, charming service and a great al fresco restaurant and bar on the waterfront heaving with Istanbul’s glitterati. Thinking of heading to a hammam but petrified of the public offerings? Then

the Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa will do nicely. The signature Rose Remedy will see that (almost) every inch of you is washed, exfoliated, masked and watered liberally in a grand marble wet room. You’ll be draped in huge pillows of soap foam with rose extract – the perfume of choice for discerning women of the Ottoman era – and massaged into blissful relaxation.

Once reinvigorated by handfuls of ice cubes rubbed on your silken skin, you’ll be glowing with the best of them.

BOOK IT: Small Luxury Hotels of the World offers rooms from £366 B&B. slh.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

BORGO DE NOR Josephine dress, £630. matchesfashion.com

LA BUTTE AUX BOIS, Near Maastricht, Belgium

Set on the edge of Belgium’s only national park, surrounded by forest, this is an elegant architectural juxtaposition of old and new, a historic house offset by a modern spa with 20 eco-chic rooms. An award-winning gourmet hotspot, you can choose from the Michelinstarred restaurant (where signature dishes include hamachi and North Sea crab and Dombes duck) to a spa menu featuring the likes of yellowfin tuna with shrimps in tempura, which can be enjoyed fresh from a dip in your towelling robe. In addition to all the first-rate facilities

you’d expect – pool, steam, gym etc – there are eight treatment rooms with the latest quartz sand and waterbed treatment tables. However, it’s the dermatological offering that really sets this spa apart. Led by Dr Yolande BullensGoessens, Belgium’s leading authority on anti-ageing, the qualified team of therapists offers procedures including peels, fillers and botox. A perfect trip for anyone wanting to return home with a glow and – naturellement – the exclusive La Forêt by Dr Bullens medicosmetics are on sale at the hotel too.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €225 B&B. labutteauxbois.be

ISABEL MARANT Filipo sage wool blend coat, £835. harveynichols.com

MADELEINE THOMPSON Curlew cashmere top, £295. madeleinethompson.com

VALSANA Arosa, Switzerland

Sandwiched between the frozen lake and bordering the forest in the iconic ski resort, this 40-room hotel is powered by an ice battery. The first hotel in Switzerland to use this cutting-edge technology, energy is captured by geothermal probes and from waste energy from the hotel and its neighbouring supermarket, all of which heat and power the building and its large spa.

Spend the day walking or skiing, and return for a relaxing swim or sauna with views into the forest.

Treatments are classic and use Clarins products; think facials and sports massages, perfect for

limbs aching from the slopes. The spa features a pool, steam bath and 24-hour gym, plus yoga studio with twice-daily classes. The menu in Valsana’s Twist restaurant caters for every taste – with vegan, gluten- and lactose-free options and organic, locally sourced produce. The surrounding nature and modern technology of the hotel have been fantastically captured by interior designer Carlo Rampazzi – his mix of industrial chic, roughly hewn Aztec rugs and botanical prints goes hand in hand with the whole ethos of this pioneering hotel.

BOOK IT: Doubles from approx. £284 B&B. valsana.ch

RI2K Metallic tote, £99.99. ri2k.london

THE ROW Flats, £675. boutique1.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

BEACH RETREATS

Combine a traditional beach break with some holistic healing

CONSTANCE HALAVELI, The Maldives

If unapologetic luxury is your bag, there are few resorts to beat the Maldivian island of Halaveli, with its trio of chic restaurants, its 20,000-bottle wine cellar and resident tennis pro and yoga instructor. This is the kind of place people revisit time and again (families and honeymooners are welcomed alike), as manta rays and whale sharks also return year in year out. The all-inclusive Cristal package includes access to 160 fine wines and innovative food from former El Bullì chef Jordi Vila. The diving is some of the best in the world, and the water villas are so private that you feel as though the entire turquoise ocean, from fingertip to fingertip, is yours alone. The spa, perched on the longest jetty in the Maldives, has its own range (U Spa by Constance); alternatively, choose a Brice Nicham foot treatment or a top-end facial with Swiss brand Valmont. A massage here, gazing down on the resident blue octopus in the gin-clear waters below, takes some beating.

BOOK IT: Turquoise Holidays offers seven nights in a water villa B&B for £2,950pp, including flights and transfers. turquoiseholidays.co.uk

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HILTON LABRIZ Silhouette Island, Seychelles

Small boats bounce over the waves from Mahé, the largest island in the Seychelles.

In the distance there’s North Island, where William and Kate honeymooned, and where a villa will set you back £6,000 a night.

But, your boat veers left and in around half an hour you’re dropped at the more egalitarian Silhouette Island. Here, there are no roads and, apart from a small B&B, just one resort: the Hilton Labriz. If there’s a preconceived picture of paradise, this has to be it: villas with private plunge pools, talcum powder-sand beaches, calm, crystal-

clear sea and a lush, hilly, forest-clad interior.

At one end of the resort is the Eforea Spa, which has the air of a Hobbit village, tucked away into the hillside, and almost covered by vegetation and trees. The six treatment rooms are set slightly up the hill, some with gorgeous views out to sea and with nothing but the sound of birds and waves to disturb you as you embark on a Volcanic Heat or Orchid Champagne massage. You might be too blissed-out afterwards to walk back along the beach, but the golf-buggies are just a phone call away.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £273 B&B. hiltonseychelleslabriz.com

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SIX SENSES ZIGHY BAY Oman

If you are after health with a bit of heat, but don’t want to schlep across the world, this is the place for you. It’s a hop to Dubai, a skip from there over the border into Oman, across the mountains and then, if you are brave, a jump (or paraglide) down to this beachside paradise. Eighty-four very private villas complete with pools, sit low amid the palm trees. The spa is sensational as befits a Six Senses resort. Book Ketut, a Balinese therapist with a sense of humour and hands that tease out any knots. The detox massage is brilliant, loosening toxins and breaking up cellulite. There are homemade scrubs, think sea salt, mint and honey. Other indulgences include treatments by The Organic Pharmacy – such as the signature rose crystal lymphatic facial, as well as anti-aging facials from high-performing ayurvedic-based Subtle Energies and biomimetic brand Margy’s. There are hammam treatments and the Arabian body rasul, which slim and purify. Best of all, when you are glowing, wrinkle-free, thinner and rested, your flight home won’t put you back to square one.

BOOK IT: Scott Dunn offers seven nights from £2,290pp half board, including BA flights and transfers. scottdunn.com

DOMES NORUZ Crete, Greece

Belonging to Marriott’s prestigious Autograph Collection, this adults-only boutique hotel stands on its own sandy beach and is home to a vast subterranean spa. With architecture inspired by the domes of nearby Chania’s Venetian shipyard, its clean lines and secluded spaces are decorated in earthy tones. Each of the 83 suites offer blissful relaxation, complete with a plunge pool, outdoor Jacuzzi or private pool. If you can tear yourself away from the plush sun loungers and waiter service, the Soma Spa features an indoor heated pool, sauna and steam room. The treatment menu offers everything from soothing massages using locally sourced oils to pioneering BIOTEC facials by British brand Elemis. Be sure to watch the sunset from the rooftop Raw Bar, then sample the locally sourced menu at the hotel’s restaurant Zeen (named after the Greek expression for living well ‘ey zeen’). They also offer a wellness and fitness package that includes a personal training session, outdoor yoga, a rejuvenating spa treatment and a bike ride to discover the local area. Perfect for putting health at the heart of your beach holiday.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €132 room only. domesnoruz.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

HEMINGWAYS Watamu, Kenya

The African welcome is as warm as the beating sun at Hemingways’ spa, housed in the grounds of this recently refurbished iconic boutique hotel on spectacular Watamu beach. Its 39 bedrooms and 21 sumptuous apartments are chic and comfortable with four-poster beds, grand bathrooms and private balconies to soak up that Indian Ocean view. Sign up for the fourhour detoxifying journey – a body mask, harmony massage and facial given by the healing hands of three therapists using delicious oils from Terres

d’Afrique. Your face, mind and body will be eternally grateful. All that spoiling comes after long walks on East Africa’s most beautiful unspoilt beach and swimming in its clear waters. A top tip is to visit the extraordinary Arabuko-Sokoke forest just 10 minutes from Hemingways, where you can spot over 60 species of birds on an early morning walk and catch elephants at the swamp at sunset. Finish off with a seafood feast after one of the hotel’s legendary cocktails. What could be more blissful?

BOOK IT: Doubles from $250 B&B. hemingways-collection.com

LISA MARIE FERNANDEZ Sabine embroidered cotton dress, £776. mytheresa.com

EUGENIA KIM Bunny Sun Day straw sunhat, £456. modaoperandi.com

ASCENO Stripe bikini top, £115, bottoms, £95. asceno.com

VILALARA LONGEVITY THALASSA & MEDICAL SPA Algarve, Portugal

An idyllic haven for sun-soaked oceanside wellness. With one of the best thalassotherapy centres in the world integrated with the internationally renowned Longevity Medical Spa, this is the perfect alliance of cutting-edge preventative and anti-ageing medicine combined with the healing power of marine therapies.

They really do take your health seriously here, and Longevity’s wellness programmes have been expertly executed – from detox, weight loss, fitness, stress management, anti-ageing

and health check-ups, to holistic healing and alternative medicine. Opt for one of the gentle wellness retreats for some R&R or the high impact and structured programmes for a total body overhaul. You can enhance your experience with an array of spa, thalassa, antiageing and aesthetic medicine services – all are available à la carte. ‘Healthy & Tasty’ nutrition plans and medically approved liquid diets are also available as an add-on or are already included in the Longevity programmes.

BOOK IT: The Longevity Active Detox sevennight programme starts from €3,445pp. vilalararesort.com

AND/OR Beaumont mini jute bag, £35. johnlewis.com

OLIVER PEOPLES Isba sunglasses, £272. oliverpeoples.com

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The Brightener.

Experience Vitamin C skin care at its most potent. Dr Sebagh Pure Vitamin C Powder Cream delivers a stabilised and highly concentrated dose of pharmaceutical grade Vitamin C which is only activated on contact with your skin.

Mix with any Dr Sebagh serum, exfoliating mask or moisturiser for an instant and powerful brightening boost with antioxidant protection against external aggressors. It can also be applied directly on its own to help lighten brown spots.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

TIME FOR A TWEAK-MENT?

If your usual face and body treatments are no longer cutting it, and your makeup and face creams are more fancy than firming and framing, then maybe it’s time to up the ante.

Nathalie Eleni advises on the best non-surgical options available

« 15-minute nose job Dr Tara

Dr Tara (of Enhance by Tara) and her specialist injecting techniques can give you the perfect profile in as little as 15 minutes. She will assess your features and profile and inject to create a natural, yet impressive result which is instant and virtually pain free.

From £300. Email: dr.tara.francis@gmail.com AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Shade Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow down the sides of your bridge and highlight the tip of the nose to give the illusion of a more streamlined appearance. £49. charlottetilbury.com

Non-surgical eye bag removal with PLEXR Dr Dev Patel

This treatment, whereby eyelid skin is sublimated using a plasma beam to retract skin and tighten dramatically, has a fantastic effect on getting rid of eye bags without the need for a scalpel. Dr Dev Patel is one of the pioneers of the PLEXR® device in the UK and is the first doctor in England to offer it. Results are outstanding. From £450. perfectskinsolutions.co.uk AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Place Shiseido’s Benefiance Wrinkle Resist Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask under your eyes and let the infused patches work their magic. £60 for 12 applications. houseoffraser.co.uk

Double chin buster Strawberry Lift

Hi-fu eye lift Dr Margaret

Smooth fine lines and crow’s feet with High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, which simulates natural collagen production to smooth out wrinkles with no recovery time and immediate results. £200 for 30 minutes. mcliniclondon.co.uk AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Radara eye patches have tiny (pain free) needles that first create micro channels around the eye area, before a youth-boosting hyaluronic super serum is applied over the top to iron out lines. £165 for one month’s supply. radara.co.uk

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Strawberry Lift is for those of us who want to bring our jawline back to life.

A fat reduction chin applicator selectively targets fat cells to tackle double chins while ultrasound technology stimulates collagen production to give a more defined jawline. The treatment is relaxing and only takes 30 minutes with no down time. From £1,000 for a course of four treatments. strawberry-laser.com AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Dr Levy Switzerland Décolletage Regenerating Silk is proven to accelerate cells’ repair processes to dramatically improve the tone and texture of the delicate neck area. £290. cultbeauty.co.uk

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Laser lip plumper Jasmina Vico

No needles required!

Jasmina will increase your lip volume with her specialist laser lip enhancement technique that stimulates collagen production to increase volume and definition. it’s a quick and pain-free alternative to fillers. £80. jasminavico.com AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Wunderkiss Plumping Gloss leaves lips looking fuller and glossy in minutes. £17.95. wunder2.com

Belly buster Dr Galyna Selezneva

Sought-after by the Hollywood elite, Dr Galyna Selezneva can get rid of unwanted fat pockets which just can’t seem to shift. CoolSculpting freezes and destroys fat cells by delivering precisely controlled cooling to target the fat cells underneath the skin. The body then naturally processes the fat and eliminates it from the body over the following weeks.

From £800. drritarakus.com AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Liquilift Slender Wrap is a bio thermal wrap that contains high grade, natural botanicals and actives that helps take inches off targeted areas on the body. £34.99. idealworld.tv

Liquid face lift Dr Sabika Karim

Dr Sabika Karin can sculpt the perfect cheekbones, lift sagging skin and fill out areas of laxity using filler and some rather specialist injections techniques, taking a good five to eight years off your face. From £1,500. revereclinics.com

AT HOME ALTERNATIVE MZ Skin’s Hydra-Lift Golden Facial Treatment Mask is saturated with gold nano particles, niacinamide, Vitamin C and collagen to plump, firm and help lift the appearance of your skin. £85 for a pack of five. mzskin.com

Better than botox Microblading with Sian Dellar

Enhance your eyes and lift your features with a microblading session with Sian Dellar, who uses semi-permanent makeup to apply individual brow strokes that mimic fine strands of hair, using a feather light technique for very natural results, no machines and no needles. Gives perfect brow definition, a subtle ‘lift’ to the eyes and the eyebrows you had at 17, or before you discovered tweezers! From £595. permanentmakeupspecialist.com AT HOME ALTERNATIVE Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil is easy to use to help create natural hair strokes. £29. spacenk.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

BEAUTY QUEENS Big name brands that deliver

LA MER AT ADARE MANOR Co Limerick, Ireland

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ESPA AT CASTELLO DEL NERO Tuscany, Italy

If you want to zzzz in a 12th-century former nobleman’s castle – set in 740 tranquil acres of rolling hills – then try Castello del Nero’s new Sleep Retreat created with ESPA. Bag a suite with Pompeian-style, 18th-century frescoes and let the butler draw you a steaming, essence-infused bath strewn with rose petals. If you’re awake by lunchtime, tear yourself away from your zillion thread-count Egyptian sheets to eat foods rich in tryptophan (makes the sleep

hormone melatonin) and fresh ricotta and spinach ravioli (with its sleep-inducing magnesium), all whisked up in the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant. Then, pop down to the spa for the ESPA Sleep Ritual: think mindfulness meets massage with a foot ritual, cymbals to open the chakras, breath work and meditation, and a hot stone massage with a restorative body oil of frankincense and rose geranium.

All guaranteed to calm a busy mind and have you sleeping like a bambino.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €422 B&B. castellodelnero.com

PHOTOS: TUCA REINES

What better way to reboot your system than at a fantasy neo-gothic castle that has just undertaken its own life-affirming makeover? The twoyear renovation of this historic estate, once the home of the Dunraven family, is said to have been one of the biggest construction projects in Ireland outside of Dublin, and no expense has been spared. At a glance it appears to have been faithfully restored to its 19th-century heyday – gurning gargoyles, decorative carved staircases and hand-knotted Tibetan rugs – but the bones of the building conceal all the technical wizardry a modern spa-goer has come to expect.

The small, but perfectly formed spa is exceptional in that it is the first, and only in Ireland, to have partnered with Crème de la Mer. What began as a physicist seeking to self-remedy burns sustained after an experiment gone amiss has snowballed into the cult brand beloved by serious beauty fanatics. With the bracing Wild Atlantic Way just a short drive away, it seems only appropriate to be slathered in products that harness the power of the sea. After the 180-minute La Mer Miracle Broth experience you’ll be looking for any excuse to dive headfirst into the fourposter princess bed you’ve had your eye on since check-in.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £285 B&B. adaremanor.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

LA MER Moisturising gel, £220. cremedelamer.co.uk

VINOTHÉRAPIE AT LES SOURCES DE CAUDALIE Bordeaux, France

Pampering combined with Michelin-starred dining and wine tasting? Mais oui, naturellement.

Just 20 minutes from Bordeaux, in the Château Smith Haut Lafitte Vineyards, the world-class Vinothérapie spa sits in beautiful French gardens, surrounded by endless acres of green, green land, offering the perfect weekend away for spa bunnies, gourmands and oenophiles. After all, a little of what you fancy never hurt anyone.

Feel virtuous on bike rides and walks through the wondrous countryside, then return and surrender

to your senses. Traditional hands-on face and body treatments with signature Caudalie facials and massages (no half-hearted Swedish massages here) invigorate and rejuvenate stressed-out bodies (the Caudalie brand was developed here by the vineyard owner’s daughter, Mathilde Thomas, and the château is its very heart and home). After that, it’s wining and dining in the way only the French know how, before collapsing, fully sated, in a cloud-like bed for the sleep of the dead. Bliss.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €300 B&B (sourcescaudalie.com). Easyjet flights from £23.24pp one-way (easyjet.com)

CAUDALIE Detox Oil, £30. uk.caudalie.com

ESPA Muscle Rescue Balm, £30. espaskincare.com

PHOTOS: TUCA REINES

JK7 SPA RETREAT AT THE SULLIVAN ESTATE Oahu, Hawaii

If you haven’t heard of beauty brand JK7, it’s best known for flogging the world’s most expensive anti-ageing serum for around £1,400, so that gives you some indication that a stay here is not for the financially challenged. In fact, you have to book out the whole lushly tropical fiveacre estate and its top-notch facilities in their entirety, so gather a group of friends (up to 12) and embrace your wellness journey together (although it’s feasible for just two to stay). A vast, stunning eco house is your home from home with

a private chef to provide balanced delicacies.

The basic spa package offers a yoga class, massage and Spa Sensator session (a techy treatment brilliant for stress busting) during your stay, but you’ve made it this far, so we say go bespoke and every detail of your stay can be personally crafted for you, from diet to the type of yoga you practice. For the rest of the time, you can hit the gym, get on the Power Plate, enjoy endless steams and saunas, meditate in the room designed just for that, then collapse in front of a movie in your own cinema.

BOOK IT: Three nights (mimimum stay), from $8,980pp per night. sullivanestate.com

FENELLA SMITH Toucan vegan leather wash bag, £20. fenellasmith.com

JK7 Unique Hair & Body Wash, £165. jk7skincare.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Spa and family are words that can go together happily

JUMEIRAH ZABEEL SARAY, Dubai

Everything is bigger in Dubai and the family-friendly Jumeirah Zabeel Saray is no exception. A mini-palace with 443 rooms and 10 restaurants on The Palm, the central pool is the size of a small lake with views stretching over to the Atlantis hotel in the distance. The brilliant kids’ club features its own pool, a climbing wall, play areas and an indoor area with everything from a Playstation to drawing and games. Leave them there and head to the hotel’s Talise Ottoman spa, which is heaven for tired parents. With 42 – yes, 42 – treatment rooms, the spa is one of the largest in the Middle East. Think soaring ceilings, mosaic floors and Ottomaninspired decorative touches, not forgetting three hammams, two thalassotherapy pools and various saunas and steam rooms, all dotted through a maze of darkly glamorous corridors spread over two vast floors. But what it lacks in intimacy, it makes up for with dazzlingly good treatments such as the Collagen Myoxinol facial (to smooth out fine lines), a full-body Citrus Hydration ritual and an indulgent Arabian rose and gold hammam. The posttreatment come down is beautifully managed with plenty of time to soak in a Jacuzzi, discover your inner Elsa in a snow room or relax on a hot stone bed. All that’s left for you to do is find your way out.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £215 room only. jumeirah.com

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BORGO EGNAZIA, Puglia, Italy

This magnificent hotel, built of tuff stone to resemble a Puglian village, offers everything; a trendy beach club, hearty restaurants, swimming pools, cycling, cooking classes, a zinging kids’ club, golf and the most magical spa for weary parents.

Literally – the ethos here is Puglian healing based on ancient witchcraft and ritual.

Descend to the labyrinthine spa, where you are met by local healers dressed as Grecian goddesses. Into this sepulchral calm, every inch of space is considered;

vast troughs contain rock crystal to absorb negativity. Sink into the white-curtained cinema for mind-bendingly beautiful films with no dialogue. Unknot your body in the spectacular Iyengar studio. Fall into the arms of the therapists whose treatments are beyond description – they release muscles and emotions in the most intuitive way.

Perfectly pitched, you will leave whoozy with disconnected delight. Vair Spa will blow your mind. It offers destination spa standards hidden in a family resort.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €269 B&B. borgoegnazia.com

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

NOÉ & ZOË Sporty pants, €59.98. noe-zoe.com

ÉVIAN RESORT, Évian-les-Bains, France

A stately retreat for worn-out parents meets a fresh-air adventure playground for children. Évian Resort sits in 42 acres of alpine woodland with hypnotic views of Lake Geneva and a backdrop of the Swiss Alps. For grown-ups there’s every top-notch aesthetic and wellness programme you can think of – from rejuvenating beauty treatments to detox, fitness and yoga retreats. Spa Évian Source is savvy to the boom in family wellness and not only offer a range of kids’ treatments – mini massages and ‘fairy fingers’ manicures – they’ve also created

a genius mother and baby programme, where exhausted mothers can check themselves in for three days of R&R, safe in the knowledge that their babes are enjoying ‘aquababy’ sessions.

The resort’s highlight is Hôtel Royal – an exquisite 19th-century palace with gorgeous suites, firstclass service and a recently awarded Michelinstarred restaurant, Les Fresques. There’s also a championship golf course, tennis courts, a concert hall and even a casino. Oh, and you must hop on the complimentary shuttle bus down to the town to sample Évian water at source.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €249 room only. evianresort.com

SELINI Selini action poppy swimsuit, £65. childrensalon.com

BILLIE BLUSH Cotton dress, £54.95. harrods.com

SCHLOSS ELMAU Krun, Germany

Tucked deep in splendour of the Bavarian Alps, Schloss Elmau is a sanctuary framed by snow-capped mountains and rushing streams.

The secret to the hotel’s success lies in its six spas, even with the 115 rooms and suites at full capacity you will find space to unwind. There are relaxation rooms with open fireplaces and scenic saunas in the most secluded spots. The Jivamukti Yoga Centre is another highlight, offering open classes on a daily basis. This familyrun hotel is positioned as a place for generations to come together and enjoy the endless choice

of activities on offer. While adults unwind in the spa, children can check in to sport, debating or craft clubs. The hotel is also home to eight restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Luce d’Oro, two libraries and a concert hall. With an established cultural programme, Schloss Elmau lures a cast of world-class performers, from classical musicians to literary masters such as Ian McEwan. If you can tear yourself away from the award-winning facilities, the 70 surrounding peaks offer countless mountain biking and skiing routes too.

BOOK IT: Doubles from €408 B&B. schloss-elmau.de

BODEN Towelling cover up, £24. boden.co.uk

SALT-WATER Sandals, £42. salt-watersandals.com

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T H E S PA G U I D E

ON HOME TURF

A mind or body workout without the hassle of a plane ride

CLIVEDEN Taplow, Berkshire

Pray that it’s a hot day when you hit Cliveden’s dazzling new spa showpiece. There can’t be much that beats lounging around on sunbeds in a beautiful lavender and rose scented walled garden by the pool (the only listed outdoor one in the UK) made famous by Profumo. But, don’t despair if it’s raining, you’ll be well looked after. Plump for treatments using Cliveden’s latest chatelaine, Natalie Livingstone’s own range of Cliveden-inspired beauty products. A favourite is the sleep-inducing bespoke floatation therapy where you lie on a warm water mattress for two hours while therapists work their magic, and the Sarah Chapman (she who’s responsible for Meghan Markle’s famous glow) facials are a must.

Feeling peckish? Order a super salad or a green detox juice from The Spa Kitchen. Before all that pampering though, get your boots on to explore acres of glorious National Trust park and woodland, running down to the River Thames. And afterwards, play Lady of the Manor yourself in the exquisite bedrooms: the Lady Astor suite is one of the best – deliciously feminine with its own handmade kingsize bed and outdoor terrace).

An utterly spoiling treat.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £445 B&B. clivedenhouse.co.uk

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RUDDING PARK Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Harrogate has secured its spot on the luxury map with Rudding’s swanky new spa, a project that has taken over a decade to complete with no expense spared. A lesson in decadent relaxation, this humongous spa is split over three floors and takes the concept of a ‘spa garden’ to new levels. On the roof lies a panoramic cabin sauna, spa bath and sun loungers amid luscious plants. Buried below are 11 treatment rooms offering heavenly pummelling, and a host of zones from meditation to visual, which plays

spellbinding videos. The impressive pools draw natural waters from the grounds, playing on Harrogate’s aqua heritage. But the ultimate must is the mud bath where puttied minerals are massaged into your skin and rinsed with a tropical shower.

Claire Horsley’s fresh interior design touch lifts the space while the spa’s spectacular Horto restaurant was built around its star chef, Murray Wilson. Meanwhile, gregarious GM, Peter Banks, is the hotel’s beating heart, with a yesteryear charm that will guarantee your return.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £172 B&B. ruddingpark.co.uk

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COWORTH PARK Ascot, Berkshire

The Dorchester’s country cousin offers all the glamour, elegance and pizzazz of a grown-up London hotel but in a bucolic rural setting. It even has its own polo field, among the immaculately maintained 240 acres complete with tennis courts and an equestrian centre, so there’s much to do. Foodies will be impressed by the recent Michelin star awarded to executive chef Adam Smith, who serves up beautifully presented British dishes with a seasonal focus, the simplicity of the menu belying the complication of the execution. The spa is also an impressive affair, set apart from the main building and namechecking superb brands, such as Carol Joy London (get high tech with a microdermabrasion machine to leave skin radiant), Kerstin Florian (the Firm and Tone body treatment will have you skipping out of the spa feeling pounds lighter) and Aromatherapy Associates (if you suffer from problem skin, choose the Skin Solution facial) and a choice of 13 different massage styles. After that, return to your deeply cossetting room, all gentle colours and rich fabrics, modern and elegant, for an incredibly peaceful night’s sleep.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £409 B&B. dorchestercollection.com

THE LYGON ARMS Broadway, Worcestershire

The fact that this 16th-century coaching inn in the idyllic Cotswolds village of Broadway (think art galleries, gorgeous independent home and gift shops and one of the best children’s playgrounds we’ve seen), which was recently bought by Iconic Luxury Hotels (Cliveden and Chewton Glen) who lavished a multi-million pound refurbishment upon it, had 100 per cent occupancy on a cold, wet February night, is testament to its many charms. There’s now a laidback informality that runs throughout – from the staff uniforms (dark jeans and shirts) to the handsome panelled main restaurant, which serves up family-friendly fare (and a killer breakfast buffet). But what those in the know really come for (local membership is available) is the excellent and extensive spa with one of the loveliest swimming pools around (complete with Jacuzzi) and a decent gym.

When it comes to facials and therapies, they’ve cleverly chosen to work with two brilliant British beauty brands, ila and Oskia, and there’s a raft of massages – from hot stone to deep tissue – available, plus a Jessica nail bar. A perfect adjunct to a Cotswolds country weekend.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £180 B&B. lygonarmshotel.co.uk

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PACKING ESSENTIALS

COTTON CITIZEN Tokyo crop tee, £95. selfridges.com

BORINGDON HALL Plymouth, Devon

If you ought to practise what you preach then owner Diane Nettleton has taken a hotel that was tired around the edges and converted it into a cathedral of health, juxtaposing the original 16th-century manor with a glossy new glass spa; a temple to modernism that juts out from the old building in a way that would set Kevin McCloud’s pulse racing. The space is an homage to Gaia – Mother Nature – and a grounding presence certainly permeates everything from the specially developed products, made from a blend of

macerated and infused oils to balance, awaken or calm, to the mood-boosting herbal infusions by your bed. If hydrotherapy is your bag, you’re spoilt for choice between the crystal salt steam room, laconium, Finnish and herbal saunas, but if you’re not up to the shock of hot and cold cycles, floating between the indoor and outdoor pools via a trapdoor will keep you occupied.

Diane powers up the good karma by giving back to the local community, offering charitable spa days to people living with cancer.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £130, room only plus use of spa facilities. boringdonhall.co.uk

BIRDIE LONDON Merino jumper, £115. birdie.london

HUNTER Refined drawstring bomber £225. hunterboots.com

THE LANESBOROUGH London W1

Plush, old-fashioned, furiously expensive, Hyde Park’s The Lanesborough isn’t the most cuttingedge or exciting hotel in London but it is reliable and it does reassuringly burst with butlers, fresh flowers and plump cushions. The new spa continues this pampering theme. And it’s not just a spa, it’s a swanky members’ club. The high tech, high spec gym is a Bodyism get-up from James Duigan and will get the lardiest physiques into shape in a mindful fashion. Meanwhile, the poshest spa café in existence offers an all-day Clean and Lean menu and an array of shakes

and juices. But it’s the spa treatments that are the real jewel here. Yes, there’s La Prairie, but if you are seeking soul nurturing then opt for one of the beautiful, deeper ila life therapies.

Or fall into the blessed, uber healing hands of Anastasia Achilleos – you’d be hard pushed to find a better, wiser facialist (she is so much more than just a facialist), and a layering of steams and creams combined with craniosacral work and the sort of massaging that relaxes your entire central nervous system will leave you feeling fully rejuvenated. Worth every penny.

BOOK IT: Doubles from £525 room only. oetkercollection.com

M.I.H. Niki cropped jeans, £225. matchesfashion.com

GANNI Edna shearling-lined leather and suede ankle boots, £295. net-a-porter.com

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The Anti-Ager.

The super anti-ageing serum with over 95% active ingredients – the highest concentration of any skin care product– including Resveratrol (the youth molecule), Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and three anti-ageing peptides to build up collagen. Dr Sebagh Supreme Maintenance Youth Serum powerfully rejuvenates, repairs and restores radiance. This ground-breaking multi-tasker can be used alone or mixed with any serum to create a bespoke ‘ageingmaintenance’ treatment.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

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S P S RI A N L E G

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C&TH

THE INSIDER INTERIORS · LIVING · DESIGN

BLOOMIN’ WONDERFUL Nobody dresses tables quite as delicately and tastefully as artist, fashion illustrator and floral designer Cathy Graham. Her book, Second Bloom, draws upon years of hosting memorable dinner parties and includes table settings, creative linens and floral landscapes.

Vendome Press, £29.95

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THE INSIDER

3-D DELIGHT

INTERIORS

DESIGN NOTES

Margo Selby’s innovative weaves always draw the eye. Mandala fabric £90 per metre. Cushions, from £60 to £84. margoselby.com

News and inspiration from the world of interiors.

By Carole Annett

KEEPING TOASTY

Ward off the evening chill, and mosquitos, with an open fire.

The Terrazza steel fireplace from Jøtul opens on two sides and can be left outside all year.

H118 cm, W50cm, D50cm, from £284. jotuluk.com

STICK TO THE RULES

The Hope table was inspired by Thomas Hope and his magnificent home on Duchess Street. American black walnut with ebony banding, 120cm x 75cm high, from £7,000. rulebrothers.com

PARASOL CHIC

These one-off parasol designs, measuring two metres when open, are hand-made in Cornwall from heritage fabrics.

Waterproof too. From £2,150. sunbeam jackie.com

PLASTIC FANTASTIC

The Bodacious rug from Angie Parker’s eco-range is made from recycled plastic and suitable for use outdoors or in.

Available in five sizes, from 150cm x 90cm, £335. angieparkertextiles.com

ELITE SEAT

Classic styling and buttery Italian leather – perfect for an opera diva. La Scala three-seater sofa (69 x 242 x 92cm), from £5,780. natuzzi.com

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WELL SERVED Decorative tableware for stylish tables

GONE POTTY If you are visiting Soho House’s latest outpost in the old BBC headquarters in White City, look out for Sussex-based Rye Pottery’s lamps. Large lamp-base with shade, £495. ryepottery.co.uk

LEATHER UPPER Walls that make you feel as though you’re living inside a luxury handbag – Onda leather from The Textures collection by Giorgia Zanellato, from €700 per sq/m. studioart.it

TREAD SOFTLY

ART OF GLASS

Glass designer Jonathan Rogers makes these pendants by hand using traditional Venetian techniques.

Filigrana, from £230. jonathanrogers.co.uk

1 Jardin salad plate by Vera Wang for Wedgwood, £26. wedgwood.com 2 Useful jug by Fenella Smith for John Whaite, £25. fenellasmith.com 3 Arabesque aqua dinner plate

by Sthål, £30. theatticroom.co.uk 4 Serenity espresso cup and saucer

by Themis Z, £31. themisz.com 5 Meercats plate by Holly’s Ark, £25. hollyfrean.com 6 Dove grey Asiatic creamer

by Burleigh, £32. burleigh.co.uk

Don’t confine rugs to the floor, some designs are so artful, they deserve wall space. Pink Ayippa Grass from the Floral collection at Luke Irwin, £829 per sq/m. lukeirwin.com IT’S A WRAP After weaving cashmere, paisley and wool for the world’s top fashion houses for over 150 years, Begg & Co now produces a small collection of its own. Arran Borderland cashmere throw, £740. beggandcompany.com

LOVE OF LITERATURE

Leather specialist Connolly and luxury craft website The Garnered join forces for a special edit including his heart bookend by Spanish designer Couli Jobert. 10.5cm high, £550 a pair. thegarnered.com May 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 159

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THE INSIDER

FOCUS

WELL SEATED Outdoor furniture that will stand the test of time (plus any type of English weather)

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1 Ashtall two-seater table, £440, and armchair, £310, both by Neptune. neptune.com 2 Skanör sofa, €3,800, and lounge table, €1,180, both by Skargaarden. skargaarden.com 3 Armchair with plain cushions, £1,535, by The Heveningham Collection. heveningham.co.uk 4 Meander love seat by Gaze Burvill, £3,600. gazeburvill.com 5 Pimlico Club chair, £795, in navy, black or taupe by Indian Ocean. indian-ocean.co.uk 6 Parsons dining table, £12,040, and various dining chairs, from £3,300 each, all by McKinnon and Harris. mckinnonharris.com 160 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | May 2018

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FOR THE FULL TETRAD EXPERIENCE PLEASE CONTACT OUR PREMIER STOCKISTS LISTED BELOW Aberdeen Archibalds • Aberdeen Sterling Furniture • Abingdon Lee Longlands • Accrington Taskers of Accrington • Ash Vale, Surrey Darlings of Chelsea • Banbury Bennetts • Banchory Taylors • Bangor Caprice • Barnstaple Padfields • Barrow-in-Furness Stollers • Bath TR Hayes • Battersea, London Barker & Stonehouse • Beverley Alexander Ellis Furniture Emporium • Birmingham Lee Longlands • Bo’ness Belgica • Boston Sack Store • Brighouse Websters Furniture • Bristol Park Furnishers • Broughty Ferry Gillies • Cardiff Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins • Carlisle Vaseys • Chesterfield Brampton House Furnishers • Clitheroe Shackletons Home & Garden • Colchester Hatfields of Colchester • Crickhowell, Wales Webbs of Crickhowell • Darlington Barker & Stonehouse • Derby Lee Longlands • Doncaster Ward Brothers • Dundee Sterling • Dunfermline Thomsons World of Furniture • Dumfries Barbours • Edinburgh Martin & Frost • Elgin Anderson & England • Exeter Stoneman & Bowker • Falmouth Richard Cook • Fulham, London Darlings of Chelsea • Gateshead Barker & Stonehouse • Glasgow Forrest Furnishing • Glasgow Sterling Furniture • Grantham Oldrids • Grimsby AW Robinson Furniture • Guernsey Scope Furnishing • Guildford Barker & Stonehouse • Hawick Chrysties • Hedge End Bradbeers • Hinckley Paul Edwards Interiors • Holt Bakers and Larners • Hove Barker & Stonehouse • Hull Barker & Stonehouse • Inverness Gillies • Inverness Sterling Furniture • Inverurie Andersons • Isle of Wight Bayliss & Booth • Kilmarnock Tannahills • Kingsbridge Peter Betteridge • Knaresborough Barker & Stonehouse • Leamington Spa Whartons • Leeds Barker & Stonehouse • Lincoln GH Shaw • Liverpool Taskers - Aintree • Llanidloes Hafren Furnishers • Macclesfield Arighi Bianchi • Malvern Rhubarb Home • Market Harborough Furniture Loft • Milton Keynes Morgan Gilder • Montrose Buicks • Morecambe LPC Furniture • Nelson Pendle Village Mill • Newcastle Barker & Stonehouse • Newton Abbot Prestige Furniture • Northants, Heart of the Shires Texture Interiors • Norwich Jarrolds • Nottingham Barker & Stonehouse • Oban Mathesons • Perth Gillies • Rainham G Lukehurst • Ringwood Furlong Furniture • Salisbury Mylor & Mawes • Sheffield Ponsford • Shrewsbury Alan Ward • Solihull Whartons • Southsea Design House • St Albans Darlings of Chelsea • Stamford Stamford Garden Centre • Swansea Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins • Teeside Barker & Stonehouse • Tewkesbury Pavilion Broadway • Tillicoultry Sterling Furniture • Tunbridge Wells Hoopers • Waltham Cross Fishpools • Winchester Design House • Windsor WJ Daniels • Yeovil The Old Creamery • York Browns

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THE INSIDER

TREND

HERE COMES THE BRIDE Gift ideas fit for a royal wedding

Harrods Vera Wang for Wedgwood love knots candle, £55. harrods.com

Peter Reed Maypole bow design pillowcase, £28.80. peterreed.com

Jonathan Adler Zoology ostrich cushion, £275. uk.jonathanadler.com

Arteriors Khan bookends, £229. arteriorshome.com

Moser Hand cut, painted and gilded vase, £7,627. thomasgoode.com

Nina Campbell Oomph backgammon table, £5,088. ninacampbell.com

Riedel Fatto a mano pink champagne wine glass, £80. riedel.co.uk

Burleigh Pottery Blue regal peacock hexagonal lamp base, £225. burleigh.co.uk Lanserring RDAI treasure box, £10,000. lanserring.com

Tom Faulkner Capricorn candlestick, £500. tomfaulkner.co.uk

Pooky Audrey mirror, £100. pooky.com

Liberty Marble lotus pot from the Made in India collection, £895. libertylondon.com

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THE INSIDER DESIGN Q&A

VANESSA ARBUTHNOTT

LITTLE BLACK BOOK Steal Vanessa’s contacts GLASSWARE John Lewis. johnlewis.com

The designer spots a star of the future and would never bother with a juicer Favourite room in the house?

My wash room which doubles as my office.

It’s tucked away beside my kitchen and is lovely and warm. I also keep my old Silver Cross pram and high chair there for when my grandson comes to visit.

Vanessa Arbuthnott

at an auction as a house warming present. It had a missing drawer which I had repaired and painted.

Most extravagant thing you’ve bought for your home? Two classical sofas

Unsung design hero? Isla

from my own range. One is huge and covered in tangerine and sweet pea shibori and the other smaller and covered in pretty maids in lime green and winter. They’re heaven to sink into.

House warming present?

I bought a large pine dresser

ABOVE & BELOW: Printed fabrics from The Artists’ Collection, £52/mtr; printed fabrics from The Sky Collection by, £49.50/mtr

Middleton is a young girl, recently out of Falmouth University, who came to do work experience with me. She creates the most beautiful fabrics from lino cuts and will be well-known one day (islamiddleton.co.uk).

RUGS Solva Woollen Mill. solvawoollenmill.co.uk

GIFTS Toast. toa.st

What should never have seen the light of day? Microwaves.

Where do you find inspiration? In paintings, greetings cards, nature and old rugs.

What’s the last piece of art you bought?

A painting by my daughter Rose. It’s a still life with my favourite owl jug in it.

WALLPAPER Vanessa Arbuthnott. vanessaarbuthnott.co.uk

Which gadget has never come out of its box? A juicer. It’s way too healthy.

Are you green-fingered? A little bit. I love growing indoor and outdoor plants. My geraniums, which flower all year round, in the hall windows are my favourite.

What would you never throw away?

Anything that the children have made.

Whose home would you most like to have a nose around? Emma Bridgewater’s.

What do you collect? Pottery.

How can we live more self-sufficiently?

Grow our own veg and keep chickens.

CUSHIONS The Organic Farm Shop, Cirencester. theorganicfarmshop.co.uk

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CHĂ‚TEAU

StPIERRE de SERJAC

LUXURY WINE ESTATE IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

@weheart

Striking the perfect balance between the independence and privacy of a luxury villa holiday, the ease & nurturing nature of a boutique hotel and the laid back vibe of a members club.

Located in the Languedoc, the sunniest region in France, the estate occupies a beautiful countryside setting with uninterrupted views of rolling vines, olive groves and woodland. The Château has been converted into an intimate hotel with 8 spacious rooms, an elegant cocktail bar and restaurant whilst the outbuildings have been converted into 36 stylish, fully equipped self-catering properties many with their own pools and gardens. A magnificent heated outdoor infinity pool takes centre stage whilst a spoiling Mediterranean garden spa, yoga classes, clay tennis court, complimentary bikes and kids club ensure guests both big and small want for nothing during their stay.

serjac.com | resa@serjac.com | 0345 686 6505 Serjac Hotel.indd 1

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C&TH

FOOD & TRAVEL E AT · D R I N K · E S C A P E

AUSTR ALIA

WILD BUSH BLISS Jeremy Taylor goes to Australia, following in the footsteps of Pippa Middleton to find out where the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister honeymooned away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi

Cruising up the spectacular Katherine River gorge is a must

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Water buffalo roam across Bamurru Plains at sunset; cool and cosy bedroom at Cicada Lodge; get closer to nature with a kayak tour up the beautiful Katherine River time for a refreshing dip in the pool at Cicada; the best way to spot wildlife at Bamurru in by hover boat

E

very luxury lodge at Bamurru Plains in Australia has two vital pieces of equipment. The first is a 20-page checklist of the bird species and animals that thrive in this remote corner of the Northern Territory – the other is an air horn should guests discover a snake curled under the bed.

The latter is highly unlikely, but without telephones, wifi or mobile reception, a quick SOS blast is the only method to call for help, though it won’t win Brownie points with the staff as a way to summon a gin and tonic. For that, a complimentary bar in the main timber and bamboo lodge is open 24 hours a day.

Bamurru Plains is located near Kakadu National Park, one of the best bird-watching locations in the world. It stands in splendid isolation, allowing up to 20 guests to experience wild bush flora and fauna in the plushest of surroundings. Each of the nine lodges stands on stilts, overlooking the Mary River floodplain. Mosquito mesh walls create the feel of a back-to-nature camp – with the sounds of cicadas and critters never far away. Countless water buffalo and wallabies help contribute to a beast-to-human ratio of 1000 to one.

No wonder the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister, Pippa Middleton, chose Bamurru at which to honeymoon with husband, James Matthews. She needn’t have worried about being photographed at the love nest either – the largest concentration of crocodiles in the Southern Hemisphere keep guard.

Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, is a good three hours away by car and there are no tarmac roads. Most guests choose to fly in, either by helicopter or tiny private plane, like the one that whisks me in to this bush paradise.

The aircraft bounces down the airstrip in a cloud of red dust. Don’t expect a business class lounge here – there isn’t even a Portakabin to shelter from the 40˚C heat. Instead, my guide is waiting in a rugged four-wheel drive. The roof has been chopped off to provide air conditioning, while a canvas canopy helps keep the sun at bay.

Sam French is just 18 but, like the rest of the staff at Bamurru, his knowledge of local wildlife would make David Attenborough proud. As we trundle down a track towards the lodge, he tells me the names of every tree and bird we pass en route. Within minutes I’ve seen black cockatoo, a pair of great egrets, brahminy kites and a white-bellied sea eagle. A tiny forest kingfisher sits perched on a gate, while a flock of magpie geese fly over a forest of milkwood trees, screeching their call for all to hear.

Unfortunately, air-conditioning costs extra at Bamarru (£60 a night) because, without a mains supply, electricity and water both have to be conserved. The central guest pavilion is cool enough, although the icy blast emanating from the drinks fridge is always a good reason to slip towards the bar.

To let off steam properly, I soon discover an infinity pool with

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FOOD & TRAVEL

Thousands of black flying fox, or fuit bats, swarm up the river creating an eerie spectacular. The locals aren’t so keen on the furry fliers, despised for depositing their acidic guano on property and cars

a jaw-dropping view. The water is flanked by two covered areas, each strewn with cushions and plenty of shade. This is the best spot at which to unwind and watch all manner of wildlife on the plains, a vista that disappears into the distant heat haze.

The only problem you’ll have at Bamurru is deciding what to do next. Hole up in a treetop hide, take a quad bike tour of the forests, or watch the animals feed at sunset by a billabong. An airboat tour of the wetlands is, however, an absolute must, where thousands of birds take flight ahead of the craft in a colourful spectacle.

It’s difficult to drag myself away from Bamurru, but the next day I’m aboard another bumpy flight, an hour due south to the remote town of Katherine. There’s one very good reason to visit – it’s known for being the place where the outback meets the tropics. While the town itself is a good base to explore the region from, I’m heading 45 minutes north to Nitmiluk National Park. The Katherine River has cut a series of 13 gorges deep into the sandstone here over millions of years, a fantastic place to explore by riverboat, canoe, or on foot.

Nearby Cicada Lodge features 18 luxury rooms, carefully laid out to maximise views of the bush. Indigenous art covers the walls, while imaginative food is served in a restaurant next to the swimming pool. The atmosphere is relaxed, with manager Charlie Gourlay always on hand to help.

I’m tempted to try a sunset dinner cruise, gently exploring the

gorges with boat and guide. The raw beauty of the place is overwhelming, but the scenery gets even better as the sun sets over my floating dinner table. Tens of thousands of black flying fox, or fruit bats, swarm up the river creating an eerie display.

The locals aren’t so keen on the furry flyers, despised for depositing their acidic guano on property and cars. Even so, it’s hard not to be impressed by such an aerial performance.

For a more exhilarating view of the gorge system, helicopter tours operate from close to Cicada. The best is a two-hour return trip to see the incredible Jawoyn rock art in the heart of Nitmiluk. This remote spot is hard to reach on foot and would take days of difficult trekking.

The Northern Territory is one of the least visited states of Australia, but offers scenery and wildlife in breathtaking quantities. It should be a ‘must see’ for any traveller Down Under – a dream destination for those interested in indigenous history and the natural world. A visit to the ‘top end’ requires careful planning and an understanding of the vast distances often involved in getting around. But if you want to get away from it all, just follow in Pippa’s footsteps.■ Bamurru Plains doubles from £90pp per night full board. Guided wilderness activities not included (bamurruplains.com). Cicada Lodge starts from £196 per room per night B&B (cicadalodge.com.au).

For more information, visit northernterritory.com.

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ESCAPE

BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Inhale the cleanest air in the world and stay at some fabulous hotels while doing so in Tasmania, a wild, rugged island tucked away at the bottom of the map. By Rosalyn Wikeley

Tasmania gives Scotland a run for its money in the beauty stakes

T

Hobart Harbour, Tasmania

Larmont Sydney by Lancemore makes the perfect pitstop to recharge

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

asmania, the exotic drip of land off mainland Australia roughly the size of Ireland, is becoming a far-flung destination in its own right. Teeming with bizarre wildlife, prehistoric landscapes and white sandy beaches, a burgeoning gastronomic and cultural scene adds an exciting new dimension to this enchanting island. If you think the Scottish Highlands are beautiful, think again...

First though, you need some recuperation time in Sydney to get over your jet lag, for at least a couple of nights.

Situated in Kings Cross, Sydney’s bohemian heartland, the Larmont Sydney by Lancemore overlooks a labyrinth of fancy cafés, shops and bars to eye up while R&R remains priority. The hotel is a contemporary refuge, decadent where it matters: plump (if not obese) pillows, enormous walk-in rain showers, American-proportioned plasma screens, all without the uptight frills of a fancy hotel (don their meaty dressing gowns in the lobby without being frowned at). Here, it’s all about in-house yoga classes, hearty breakfast-in-bed and memory mattresses (doubles from £123. lancemore.com. au). Once you’ve reset your body clock, head to the swanky champagne bar at Sofitel overlooking Darling Harbour (sofitelsydneydarlingharbour.com.au), or Sydney Opera House’s al fresco option to toast your arrival and circadian rhythms.

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FOOD & TRAVEL

THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

Hatherley Birrell Collection offers boutique lodging in Launceston

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

LAUNCESTON

Tasmania’s second major city is wrapped in prehistoric landscape. The city of Launceston seems locked in Victoriana (it was settled by the British in 1806) but some impressive design and gastronomic edges have emerged recently.

Hatherley Birrell Collection typifies this with a series of design-led boutique ‘lodges’ atop the yesteryear city. The couple behind this bohemian estate have used their design panache honed from architectural careers to create a series of self-catered marvels.

Oriental touches (kimonos over white robes) blend into writer’s retreat interiors, but it’s the dazzling ceiling of stars unmarred by pollution, best seen from your outdoor stone bath, that reminds you how far you are from home (doubles from £142. hatherley.com.au). In town, you’ll find juicy Tasmanian steaks at Black Cow (blackcowbistro.com.au) and dishes with ingredients you won’t understand, but are nonetheless delicious, at renovated mill Stillwater. Feeling active? Hike the epic Cataract Gorge; for something more sybaritic, go wine tasting in the Tamar Valley with Valleybrook Wine on Wheels Tours (valleybrook.com.au).

This is the land of a thousand lakes, with a vista so breathtaking, it’s hard to focus on the road ahead. Explore it on foot or by electric bike and keep your eyes peeled for snakes, platypus and ‘tassie’ devils. The aptly-named Thousand Lakes Lodge sits in a remote, rugged stretch of this World Heritage Site, a Bond villain’s lair submerged in the wind-blasted tundra.

Originally built in the 1980s as an Antarctic training facility, the lodge soon fell into disrepair, only to be salvaged from the demolition list

by V8 Supercar racing star Marcos Ambrose. Its layout and aesthetics are an ode to its original Antarctic brief, but with the requisite trappings of a luxury bolthole.

A communal spirit pervades with shared dining amid alpine comforts of a roaring fire and hearty menu (think rump steak and chocolate pud). The real luxury though are those inescapable windows that pull guests’ eyes and thoughts to the flora and fauna outdoors.

This hauntingly beautiful landscape, with its orange hues, scattered lakes and mossy tundra, falls somewhere between the Scottish Highlands and Mars. Doubles from £149. thousandlakeslodge.com.au

Former shipping shed MACq 01 is now a slick stay

HOBART

The cooler clime and seafood-rich waters give Tasmania a gastronomic edge over the mainland and Hobart is at the epicentre with restaurants such as The Glass House for refined waterfront tapas (theglass.house) and Pigeon Hole for its fresh farm produce (pigeonholecafe.com.au) leading the charge. Along the historic harbour lies MACq 01, a slick, ‘storytelling’ hotel with swanky rooms and an excellent seafood restaurant. Think Mad Men by the sea – contemporary glamour paired with an intriguing narrative – each room an ode to a character from Tasmania’s tumultuous past (doubles from £244. macq01.com.au). There’s plenty to keep you busy. East Coast Cruises head to Maria island to spot seal, dolphin and flying fish (eastcoastcruises.com.au) or take a hike along the historic Pipeline Track up Mount Wellington to glimpse pademelons, platypus and echidna.

Wilderness wonder at Thousand Lake Lodge

BOOK IT: The Ultimate Travel Company organises bespoke Tasmanian adventures, including flights via Sydney or Melbourne.

020 3733 5001; theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk

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FOOD & TRAVEL

SPRING WATCH

You’ll spy otters at Kilcamb Lodge Walking llamas can be very therapeutic

Spring has sprung. Now’s the time to study wildlife from the comfort of a gorgeous hotel. Here are four suggestions.

1 KILCAMB LODGE, Argyll Puffins, otters, pine martens, stags, golden eagles and even whales. kilcamblodge.co.uk 2 BRIDGE HOUSE, Beaminster, Dorset Llama trekking (really) through the rolling Dorset countryside with UK Llamas based in Beaminster. bridge-house.co.uk 3 ROSE & CROWN, Snettisham, Norfolk Superb birdwatching at Snettisham, Holme and Titchwell. roseandcrownsnettisham.co.uk 4 LAINSTON HOUSE, Sparsholt, Hampshire Fascinating falconry with resident falconer, Judy. exclusive.co.uk

T R AV E L N E W S

THE HOTEL WIZARD Fiona Duncan joins spring watch

A WILTSHIRE WEEKEND

Old Wardour Castle

As well as Fonthill Estate, this corner of Wiltshire around Tisbury is packed with delights. Pythouse Kitchen Garden, a rustic chic conservatory set in an abundant walled garden specialises in outdoor cooking over fire and serves delicious seasonal lunches, teas and barbecue suppers. There’s glamping too (pythousekitchengarden.co.uk). For compelling art, head for Messums Wiltshire, a prestigious gallery in a medieval tithe barn; and for romance to lakeside Old Wardour Castle (english-heritage.org.uk). Decorate your house at the colour-rich Long Room (montesandclark.co.uk); become an oenophile from the depths of a red Chesterfield sofa at the Beckford Bottle Shop (beckfordbottleshop.com); walk on sweeping Cranborne Chase; then flop on the sofa at the Beckford Arms.

The Pig is coming to Kent

The Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford

1

Style, comfort and humour combined: the perfect modern country inn, family friendly and brimming with bonhomie.

2

The convivial bar to the right and big, comfy sitting room, made for collapsing with the papers in front of the fire, to the left of the entrance.

3

The setting. Stroll through the stone arch and beautiful Fonthill Estate – lake, woodland and rolling parkland – it’s yours for the taking.

4

The grub, from pork pie and a pint at the bar, to suckling pig spit-roasted on the fire, not forgetting stellar breakfasts.

5

The eight compact but cosy bedrooms, with all the perks of a luxury boutique hotel.

6

Their own brand Bramley products, as prettily packaged as they are heaven to bathe with.

7

The two luxurious lodges.

Secluded, split level, simple kitchens, wood burners; very cool.

8

The thoughtful extras: boules pitch, sandpit, smoking den, kids’ games.

9

The laid back, ever friendly staff; Charlie Luxton’s sardonic humour…

10

… And co-owner Dan Brod’s tongue-in-cheek newsletters.

It all adds up to the perfect country inn.

Doubles from £95. 01747 870385; beckfordarms.com

ON THE TRAVEL RADAR Mr & Mrs Smith know a thing or two about hotels. Here are their 2018 winners: Villa La Coste, Provence (Best Smith Hotel); La Roch Hotel & Spa, Paris (Best Dressed); Soneva Jani, Maldives (Sexiest Bedroom); Taylor River Lodge, Crested Butte, US (Best Family); Chamba Camp Thiksey, Himalayas (Above & Beyond). mrandmrssmith.com

TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE

Camp Thiksey in the Himalayas

Pig out on Pigs… three new Pig Hotels are joining the litter. First up is The Pig at Bridge Place, near Canterbury, opening this autumn.

Next year will see both The South Downs Pig in West Sussex and The Pig at Harlyn Bay in Poldark country near Padstow. thepighotel.com

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Choose Beachcomber for your luxury holiday, wedding or honeymoon and you’re guaranteed a spectacular setting. As the first hotel company on Mauritius, we were able to handpick the most idyllic locations for our eight superb hotels. Then we added a host of magical ingredients to make your stay just perfect:

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21/12/2017 15:01 10:59 28/03/2018

FOOD & TRAVEL NEWS

GASTRO GOSSIP The British brand that’s had a bleedin’ great idea…

by Clementina Jackson

SURF & TURF

Come spring, the country’s top chefs congregate on the South coast for its annual food festivals.

At St Ives it’s all oysters and champagne (11-13 May. stivesfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk), or head to Dorset and the River Cottage Festival to revel in the food of Tom Kerridge, Anna Jones and Melissa Hemsley (26-27 May. rivercottage.net).

THIS MONTH

WORTH EVERY PENNE Luckily we haven’t been holding our breath – it’s only taken iconic Italian delicatessen Lina Stores 75 years to finally open its own restaurant. A Soho institution that imports and sells authentic Italian products and ingredients, it has long been filling the bellies of homesick expats and clued-up Londoners. linastores.co.uk

BLOODY GENIUS

When you picture vegan food it’s unlikely to be a big, juicy, red-inthe-middle burger – until now. Bite into the future of food with the new Moving Mountains B12 burger, an entirely plant-based patty that sizzles and browns when cooked, just like the real thing. The new invention took over two years to perfect, and even bleeds through the middle (beetroot juice, of course). Now vegans can have their burger, and eat it too. movingmountainsfoods.com

TAKE TWO Brown’s Hotel’s Italian pop-up in December featuring Salvatore Calabrese and Heinz Beck was such a success that it has popped back up for a while longer. Following an extensive revamp, legendary drinks maestro Calabrese brings his original creations to the Donovan Bar, while superstar chef Beck comes from three Michelin-starred La Pergola in Rome to give us a taste of il bel paese. roccofortehotels.com

1 SNAP A picture of your favourite charcuterie board for the chance to be voted Britain’s Best. @BritainsBestCharcuterieBoards #BBCharcuterieBoards 2 DRINK Warner Edwards honey-infused gin and plant the packet of wildflower seeds that comes with it to encourage the dwindling bee population. £40. warneredwards.com 3 DOWNLOAD New app Karma connects restaurants with surplus food to nearby hungry Londoners – who get it for half price.

Good karma all round. Free. karma.life 4 EAT All hail the burgeoning personalised food trend. Stick your initials on this Harrods sourdough. £15. harrods.com

PETITES FLEURS All those flowers at RHS Chelsea Flower Show (22-26 May) look good enough to eat. To avoid munching on the display gardens, head to The Dorchester’s pop-up restaurant for a fabulously floral afternoon tea. The most British of all combinations. rhs.org.uk 172 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | May 2018

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PROMOTION

CITY SANCTUARY Find world-class therapists and first-rate treatments in five-star surroundings at COMO Shambhala Urban Escape

S

tep off the busy street and into the calm world of COMO Shambhala Urban Escape on the second floor of the five-star hotel COMO Metropolitan London on Park Lane.

Here you will find a different kind of spa experience.

The ethos is simple, a transformative, 360-degree approach to wellness that aims to inspire commitment to lifelong physical and mental wellbeing for every individual, housed in a space where you can find inner calm and escape the pressures of city life.

Choose from a range of massage and bodywork treatments, ancient healing therapies and the best possible facial care delivered in a nurturing environment

by COMO Shambhala’s expert therapists from across the globe.

It is not just the variety of treatments available but the integrity of them that makes COMO Shambhala stand out as a dedicated wellness centre. There are Japanese shiatsu and acupuncture specialists, results-driven facials and world-

Find a calm, peaceful environment and first-class therapies at Como Shambhala on London’s Park Lane

renowned visiting practitioners, offering everything from intuitive counselling, energy healing and reiki, to stress management and spiritual growth.

From 16–30 April, Per Van Spall, a certified master in the art of Qigong healing, which provides body-mind guidance to promote physical wellbeing, spiritual growth and emotional healing, will be available for sessions.

If you don’t fancy a treatment but want to learn more about wellnessrelated subjects, COMO Shambhala’s event series, 360 Wellness, gives you the opportunity to speak to a panel of leading experts. Menopause – Facing It Head On is the first this year, taking place on 25th April, followed

by Holistic Beauty and Mental Wellbeing later in the year.

COMO Shambhala Urban Escape +44 (0)20 7447 5750; email met.lon@comoshambhala.com; comoshambhala.com

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FOOD & TRAVEL

R E S TA U R A N T R E V I E W S

FORK & FIELD Two pubs unfurl from winter’s cloak to spring’s salutation, says Coco Bayley

SECRET SPRING TIME CAFÉS Little gems found off the path less trammelled

COUNTRY

THE COMPASSES INN, Tisbury, Wiltshire

To reach this wonderful, olde worlde pub, you rush past crystal clear Fonthill Lake, through picture-postcard Tisbury and wiggle your way to this pin-drop quiet spot. Last year Ben Maschler – son of restaurant critic Fay – and his wife bought and re-vamped the 14th-century pub, designing rooms that are now utterly serene and slightly Danish in feel. The pub bit is, by contrast, still dark and wonderfully atmospheric, with timber beams and cosy booths. The menu is thoughtful, local and British; smoked mackerel, horseradish and bacon; burnt butter and sand sole, pork and prune pie.

A seriously good sticky apricot, date and ginger pudding to finish. With only about ten steps between the pub and a sleep, you’ll find yourself turning in early. Mains from £12.50. thecompassesinn.com

THE TOWPATH CAFÉ, N1 An all-time London spring-to-summer favourite. Perched on De Beauvoir canal in Hackney, the team – headed up by Laura and Lori – serve up super elegant, super fresh, all-day proper food from an open kitchen (and bar).

Alongside being serious and delicious, it’s impossibly photogenic – dishes appear looking stunning on the floral wares. 020 7254 7606

TOWN

CAMBERWELL ARMS, SE5

This pub with a dining room, from the same team behind London’s much-loved rooftop bar Frank’s, encompasses everything we love about London’s south east. The pub is still pub-y, while the refurbished restaurant area is a touch more serious, gently feminine and often communal.

The menu is ever-changing, but there are always the house staples, which are there for a reason: pork fat on toast with scotch bonnet is an absolute favourite. There’s always a pie, a rotisserie chicken with mustard mayonnaise and a huge green salad on the side. It’s all dressed up with the finessed cooking of classics: barbecued calçots and romesco, piled elegantly on a small white plate, ribollita, quail with anchovy cream... Refined, but sometimes messy.

The crowd is mixed and the (superb) Sunday lunch gets busy, but it’s worth waiting for with a negroni at the bar. Mains from £12. thecamberwellarms.co.uk

DISHES OF THE MONTH…

Jeremy Lee

1 Quo Vadis’ Jeremy Lee’s salmon, trout, lettuce and mayonnaise… stunning bites to pop in your mouth (quovadissoho.co.uk). 2 Kiln’s insanely savoury, clay-potbaked glass noodle with Tamworth belly and brown crab (kilnsoho.com). 3 Chilli cheese fries, scoffed shame-faced at Meatliquor, Covent Garden. Yes, scoffed! (meatliquor.com)

ITALO, SW8 A wonderful, eccentric, delicious, eclectic deli facing one of south London’s most beautiful squares – Bonnington – sprouting with palms.

There are often violins playing, occasional supper clubs... You can buy sea buckthorn, locally roasted coffee beans, and sandwiches – filled with whatever you like, however you like… italodeli.co.uk

FOWLDS, SE5 Tucked away behind the less-thanpromising Walworth Road in Camberwell, the café shares the space with the family’s upholstering business. It’s beautiful and tiny; people pile in lovingly and loyally. Treats are stacked high; the sandwiches are serious and heavy-duty, coffee’s great and there is beer if the day takes that turn. fowldsupholsterers.co.uk

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3 nights for 2 available until March 2018

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C&TH EDITED BY ANNA TYZACK

PROPERTY HOUSE OF THE MONTH Sell it to us in a sentence... Stanley House is one of London’s most prestigious residences. The Grade II* listed property has been noted by English Heritage as being of significant importance to the nation. It boasts an acre of gardens – unheard of in central London and is perfect for someone seeking privacy.

Does the property have a notable history?

Built in 1691, this Georgian manor house has had several famous owners including Sir Charles Wager who was the First Lord of the Admiralty from 1733 to 1742.

Best room in the house? The magnificent drawing room as it stores no less than the first and last plaster reliefs of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens.

What will keep us entertained? There is plenty to keep you entertained at Stanley House. An indoor pool and gym are housed within this impressive mansion, and the property also has access to the facilities of the Kings Chelsea development.

Stanley House, King’s Road, London SW3 Price: POA 8 bedrooms 9 bathrooms 16,755 sq/ft

What is the garden like? An acre of gloriously landscaped gardens and lawns in the heart of Chelsea.

You’d be forgiven for momentarily forgetting that you’re in London.

Best nearby shops and restaurants?

The King’s Road, on the doorstep, is renowned for its boutiques and restaurants. You’ll be spoilt for choice.

Any good schools in the area? Yes, there’s Pippa Pop-ins for nursery, Thomas’s Kensington and Fulham Prep for prep ratory for senior.

The current owner says… ‘When you’re in the grounds of the house you can quite easily forget you are in London.

There are no visible buildings, only the surrounding gardens and trees.’

020 7288 6900; hamptons.co.uk

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A bird’s-eye view of rural Essex

The beach at Southend

L E T ’ S M O V E T O . ..

ESSEX

I

t is hard to believe that the pretty village of Ingatestone in Essex is less than half an hour away from central London. There is a saddlery, several good pubs and a cricket green, all surrounded by rolling farmland and narrow country lanes. And for less than the value of a four-bed house in Fulham, you can buy a village house and garden, or an old farmhouse with paddocks. ‘Essex has so much to offer,’ says Nicki Treffers, of estate agency Beresfords in Chelmsford.

‘There are beautiful villages with old manor houses surrounded by real countryside and some of the best schools in the country.’

The county also has one of the longest coastlines, with windswept beaches and harbours for sailing, and a vibrant farming and equestrian community. Yet it is often overlooked by London leavers in favour of the Home Counties. ‘People have had a sheep mentality, following each other out of London and into Hampshire, but increasingly they are appreciating the lifestyle benefits of Essex,’ explains Paddy Pritchard-Gordon of Knight Frank in Bishop’s Stortford.

Buyers, he continues, are drawn by the county’s natural beauty and its fast commuter links to London, particularly with Crossrail arriving in Shenfield later this year. ‘I recently sold a house in Shenfield to a London family for £1.8m that was three times the size of the home they were selling for £2m in Islington. It only added five minutes to their commute too,’ adds Stephen White of Savills in Chelmsford.

The real Essex bears no resemblance to the Brentwood-based TV show The Only Way Is Essex, White explains. ‘The show features one part of one high street, but it’s nothing like that,’ he says. The hugely popular Essex Game and Country Fair, which takes place in October, with gun dog displays and falconry, showcases the county’s rural side – there are several Pony Clubs, a Young Farmers’ social club

and a number of foxhound packs. ‘It is a rural paradise for those who enjoy fresh air and appreciate a shorter commute to London,’ agrees Treffers. ‘And it hasn’t been spoilt by overcrowding.’

Given its proximity to London, however, Essex is not as sleepy as other parts of rural Britain. The economy is flourishing, according to Lucian Cook, director of research at Savills, thanks to a large number of entrepreneurs and tech businesses setting up in the county and large-scale property investment, particular around Chelmsford. The fact that Cambridge, to the north, has become an important science and technology hub has further increased Essex’s desirability, as has the gentrification of Chelmsford, which now has a pedestrianised centre and a John Lewis. As a result of this growing wealth, the county has plenty on offer for those who appreciate the finer things in life. There are a number of excellent spas including Lifehouse near Frinton-on-Sea, set amid 12 acres of English Heritage Listed gardens, and Kukana at Orsett Hall in the village of Orsett, and countless renowned restaurants and gastropubs, such as The Cricketers in Clavering, run by Jamie Oliver’s parents, Trevor and Sally. Treffers recommends the Galvin Green Man in Great Waltham, run by the Galvin brothers, as well as Le Talbooth, a country-house hotel in the picturesque Dedham Vale, part of an area known as Constable Country.

The county’s array of fantastic schools, both state and independent,

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; VISIT COLCHESTER

It really is the only way, says Anna Tyzack

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PROPERTY is another huge draw. Among them is Brentwood School, a leading day and boarding school for girls and boys from three years old in Brentwood, and New Hall, in a former royal palace near Chelmsford, which operates the highly successful diamond model. Last year it was voted Independent School of The Year by The Times.

Also highly sought-after are Felsted, for boys and girls aged four to 18, near the market town of Great Dunmow, and St Mary’s School, an independent day school for girls in Colchester. There are also outstanding state primary schools in many of the commuter villages and the league table-topping King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, established in 1551, as well as Colchester Royal Grammar School, founded in 1206.

Such is the demand to live within easy reach of these schools that families compete for houses as well as school places. ‘Schools definitely drive up the property prices – family houses within walking distance of Brentwood School can sell for more than £3.5m,’ Treffers says.

Increasingly, families are turning to buying agents to help them find a house within easy reach of their chosen school and station. Mark Crampton of property finders Middleton Advisors (middletonadvisors.com) has helped his clients secure some of Essex’s most special houses, before they have come on the open market.

Despite the competition, prices are still cheaper than in the Home Counties. For £1.25m you can buy a five-bedroom country house near a desirable commuter village such as Shenfield, which is on the outskirts of Brentwood. ‘We’re certainly better value than the Home Counties

The swimming pool at gorgeous Essex hotel Maison Talbooth

Chelmsford Cathedral

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; VISIT COLCHESTER

but there’s no doubt prices are catching up,’ White says. Shenfield is ideal for those after a London commute of less than half an hour: the train to Liverpool Street takes 23 minutes and when Crossrail arrives later this year, Bond Street will be 49 minutes away. Ingatestone is also highly regarded: it has its own mainline station (29 minutes to Liverpool Street) and is surrounded by a number of attractive smaller villages, such as Fryerning and Stock, which has an excellent pub, The Hoop. There are also pretty villages around Chelmsford, such as Danbury, bordered by National Trust land and Writtle.

Colchester is Britain’s For those prepared to travel slightly oldest recorded town further, Stephen White recommends villages around Colchester, Britain’s oldest recorded town, such as Higham, within the Dedham Vale, and Manningtree, while Pritchard-Gordon likes the villages around Audley End and Saffron Walden, such as Quendon, Thaxted and Finchingfield, with access to London from Bishop’s Stortford.

Maggie and Hugh Gowan moved to a hamlet here from Clapham in south-west London two years ago having originally planned to buy in Gloucestershire. ‘I was set on living close Felsted school is for to Cirencester where I grew up, but when we compared commuting boys and girls, from four to 18 times and house prices, Essex seemed a no brainer,’ she says.

It takes Hugh 15 minutes to drive to the station at Bishop’s Stortford where there are trains to London in 38 minutes and their children have settled into a local prep school. ‘Arguably it is even more rural here than where we were looking to be in Gloucestershire. My daughter has a pony and my son is a mad keen sailor – we can be at the coast in just over half an hour.’

Her biggest fear about moving to Essex was that she’d miss her London social life but she quickly made friends in the local villages and through the school. When she fancies a London fix, however, she can hop on a train and meet Hugh for dinner after work.

New Hall was voted Independent School ‘It never happens,’ she says. ‘There’s so much fun to be had of The Year in 2016 around here that London has rather lost its appeal.’

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PROPERTY

S I X O F T H E B E S T . ..

ESSEX HOMES FOR SALE Its close proximity to London and quaint charm makes Essex an ideal place to put down roots

SANDON

NAZEING

SHENFIELD

INGATESTONE

FINCHINGFIELD

RADWINTER

Wadhams, just outside the village and under a mile from the train station to London, is a stately, modern country house reached by meandering rural lanes.

Contemporary design runs throughout the enormous open-plan entertaining spaces, five bedrooms, wine room and play room and there is a manicured garden with Japanese water garden backing on to open farmland. The highly regarded independent Brentwood School is a 15 minutes’ drive away. £1.975m. 01245 293233; savills.com

Nazeing Park House, in a private and secluded location on the Essex and Hertfordshire borders, belongs to the descendants of Billy Smart, the circus impresario. The vast 14,000 sq/ft property is surrounded by ornate, formal gardens and grounds approaching 68 acres and has nine bedrooms in the main house, plus a coach house and studio. There is also planning permission to extend further and add a leisure and entertainment wing. £8.75m. 020 8508 5424; johndwood.co.uk

Spains Hall is an exceptional sevenbedroom Elizabethan country house with Dutch gables and a panelled reception hall that has been subtly transformed to feature modern living spaces, a swimming pool and tennis court. It is approached through parkland and has formal rose gardens, glass houses and a two-storey folly, plus nearly 20 acres of land. The whole estate, with nearly 70 acres and additional buildings, is on sale for £6m. £2.95m. 020 7318 5025; struttandparker.com

A scenic half-mile drive leads to this impressive country house that has been occupied by the same family for nearly a century. Grade II listed Fitzwalters – which has a moat at the front – has seven reception rooms and seven bedrooms and pretty gardens of five acres surrounding the property with a pool house, stabling, brick greenhouse, numerous outbuildings, plus an all-weather tennis court. £3.25m. 01245 807265; beresfords.co.uk

A pretty 10th-century farmhouse (the property is mentioned in the Domesday book) which has been beautifully renovated to include a large kitchenbreakfast room with an Aga and five bedrooms with ensuites. It is set within five acres of land including formal gardens and a covered barn with seven stables, a tack room and a floodlit arena; perfect for those that enjoy horses and the great outdoors. £1.45m. 01799 523656; cheffins.co.uk

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

Dating back to 1765, The Old Rectory, three miles from Chelmsford (Liverpool Street station can be reached in 38 minutes), is a listed Georgian house that has been beautifully restored and refurbished to create a wonderful family home. There are four floors of accommodation including an airy drawing room and seven bedrooms.

Outside there are garages and stables, mature lawns and a tree-lined drive. £1.75m. 01279 213340; knightfrank.com

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TEN THINGS TO DO IN ESSEX From spa days to sea days, there’s plenty to do in this east coast county

out with 1 Athedayfamily

Try wild mushroom gnocchi and roast loin and belly of Great Garnetts’ pork at the Green Man

Travel back in time 900 years at the open-air museum at Mountfitchet Castle (mountfitchetcastle.com) with a Norman village to explore inside the imposing castle walls. For top-notch Italian food, La Bicicletta is a family-run restaurant in the tiny village of West Horndon (labicicletta.net).

2Sunday lunch out

Essex is blessed with countless gastropubs: try The Windmill in Chatham Green, near Chelmsford (thewindmillchathamgreen.com) or the Galvin brothers’ Green Man at Great Waltham (galvingreenman.com). For something more formal, head to The Blue Strawberry at Hatfield Peverel (bluestrawberrybistro.co.uk).

3

6

6 Some ‘me time’

Book a spa day at the Lifehouse near Frinton-on-Sea in April or May and wander through Gertrude Jekyll’s bluebell woods when they’re in bloom. lifehouse.co.uk

2

7 A shopping day

Not only does Colchester have stylish department store Fenwick and countless independent boutiques, but it also has weekly markets and, as Britain’s oldest recorded town, historic roman defences and a castle.

A day at the seaside

Admire the pier at Southendon-Sea, the longest in Britain, or picnic on the sand at Frinton-on-Sea, with its wide beach, colourful huts and low cliffs. For some of Essex’s best seafood, you can’t beat The Company Shed in West Mersea. thecompanyshed.co

4 A walk in the country

Head to Flatford in the Dedham Vale for a walk in Constable Country.

From Flatford Bridge, there is a four to seven mile walk through the Stour Valley (nationaltrust.org.uk). Afterwards enjoy a pint at The Sun at Dedham (thesuninndedham.com).

8 An evening at the races Flatford Mill House, immortalised on canvas by Constable

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

4 Essex Fox Hounds welcomes newcomers, including children, to come and give it a try

5 Garden inspiration

Few places are more inspiring than the Beth Chatto Gardens near Colchester. In 1960 Chatto took an overgrown wasteland of brambles, parched gravel and boggy ditches and transformed it into an inspirational, informal garden that is renowned worldwide. bethchatto.co.uk

Enjoy bluebell woods in springtime

Britain’s newest racing venue, Chelmsford City Racecourse, hosts regular fixtures on an all-weather track and has several restaurants and bars. chelmsfordcityracecourse.com

9 An adrenaline rush

More than 200 spectators attend the Essex Fox Hounds’ opening meet on the last Monday in October.

If you’re keen to get in the saddle, the hunt welcomes newcomers to try a day’s hunting. essexfoxhounds.com

10 A culture fix 9

The Geedon Gallery, in a converted barn, mounts two major exhibitions a year of 20th and 21st-century British art and sculpture. geedongallery.co.uk

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KnightFrank.indd C T H - 1 0 1 B l 1e

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Chislehurst, Kent In one of Chislehurst's most prestigious private roads Chislehurst station 0.9 mile, London 12 miles An outstanding family house approaching 11,000 sq ft with excellent leisure facilities including an indoor swimming pool, gym and sauna. 6 bedroom suites, ground floor shower room, 4 reception rooms. Excellent landscaped gardens, gated entrance, integral garaging. EPC rating B.

Freehold

£4,950,000

KnightFrank.co.uk/sevenoaks george.berry@knightfrank.com +44 1732 744477

Joint Agent: uniquepropertiesuk.com chris.salt@langfordrussell.com +44 20 8295 4900

@KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

KnightFrank.co.uk/SEV180027

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his exceptionally ell presented house offers contemporary living in the heart of ayfair. pread across three floors, the elegant property features a spectacular reception room on the second floor with glass bi-folding doors on to the ad oining private roof terrace. aster en suite bedroom ith dressing room, further bedrooms, 2 additional bathrooms, reception room, kitchen dining room, guest cloakroom, roof terrace, hall ay, parking. EPC: E. Approximately 96. sq m (2, sq ft).

easehold: approximately 9 9 years remaining

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Guide rice £ , 00,000 night rank.co.uk

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Bramerton Street, Chelsea SW3 A beautifull presented period ouse A beautifully presented three bedroom period house in a wide and attractive street leading from the Kings Road to Glebe Place, opposite Carlyle Square. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, reception room, kitchen, garden. EPC: E. Approximately 151 sq m (1,626 sq ft).

Freehold

Guide price: £3,250,000

KnightFrank.co.uk/chelsea chelsea@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6172

@KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

KnightFrank.co.uk/CHL170178

KnightFrank.indd C&TH - M ay4B

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An immaculately presented three bedroom lateral apartment A spectacular three bedroom apartment, located on the sixth floor of a prestigious mansion block, with lift access and day porter. Master bedroom (with en suite shower room), 2 further bedrooms, modern bathroom, large reception room, separate fully fitted kitchen ith open plan dining area.

EPC: . Approximately 2 .4 sq m ( , sq ft).

Leasehold: approximately 104 years

KnightFrank.co.uk/marylebone marylebone@knightfrank.com 020 8128 0978

@KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

Guide price: £3,150,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/MRY180018

KnightFrank.indd 5 Country & Townhouse

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The Butts, Brentford TW8 A unique four bedroom coach house for sale in this favoured location An immaculately presented home in a tranquil setting overlooking the square in The Butts conservation area.

Thought to have been built circa 1760, the house retains a wealth of period charm and detailing throughout. The Butts conservation area is an enchanting collection of period houses on roads with a town square at the heart.

4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 reception rooms, kitchen/dining/family room, downstairs WC, rear garden. EPC: D. Approximately 199.93 sq m (2,152 sq ft).

Freehold

KnightFrank.co.uk/chiswick chiswick@knightfrank.com 020 8128 111

@KF_SWLondon KnightFrank.co.uk

Guide price: ÂŁ1,650,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/cwk170134

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Coleridge Gardens, Chelsea SW10 A spacious one bedroom flat A spacious, well presented one bedroom flat on the second floor of Clark House, a period style block in the sought after King’s Chelsea development. Bedroom, bathroom, reception room, kitchen, lift, 24 hour concierge, leisure facilities, parking space. EPC: C. Approximately 64 sq m (689 sq ft).

Share of freehold

Guide price: £995,000

KnightFrank.co.uk/chelsea chelsea@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6172

@KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

KnightFrank.co.uk/CHL170106

KnightFrank.indd C&TH - M ay7Clark

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28/03/2018 11:41 16/03/2018 15:05:34

The best properties on your doorstep

Savills Windsor

01753 834 600

Stunning barn conversions with wonderful views, Maidenhead, Berkshire The Old Granary is a spacious 6 bedroom home, one of four individual properties which are full of character and fitted to a superb specification. Beautifully designed for contemporary life with inviting living spaces positioned to enjoy the views. Ideally situated for access to Maidenhead station for Crossrail, completion in 2019. Approx 5,478 sq ft

Guide ÂŁ2.85 million

Coming Soon - The Old Dairy & The Old Stables (Prices on Application)

Talk to us today Charles Elsmore-Wickens Head of Residential 01753 834600 cewickens@savills.com

savills.co.uk what can we do for you?

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Bishops Row, SW6

Prices from ÂŁ4,995,000

An exciting new scheme of spectacular townhouses a stone’s throw from the River Thames, by Octagon Developments.

Between 4,375 and 6,150 sq ft Kitchen/breakfast/family room | Drawing room with rear terrace | Dining room Master bedroom suite with rear terrace and views towards River Thames | Four further bedrooms Three further bath/shower rooms | Gym | Cinema | Study | Private rear garden | Additional covered courtyard garden Showhouse open Thursday to Monday 10am - 4pm or by appointment.

Fulham | 020 7731 7100 fulham@struttandparker.com

/struttandparker

@struttandparker

struttandparker.com

60 Offices across England and Scotland, including prime Central London.

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TOR GARDENS, KENSINGTON, LONDON, W8 A beautifully presented five bedroom stucco fronted family house which has been fully refurbished in recent years. The property comprises approximately 3,662 sq ft, with a south facing terrace and garden as well as off-street parking for 2 cars. This very elegant and unusually wide house has excellent entertaining space, including an impressive raised ground floor drawing room. In addition, there is a spacious kitchen/family room on the lower ground floor with doors opening on to the garden.

Entrance hall · Drawing room · Study · Kitchen · Open plan kitchen/dining/family room · Utility room · Master bedroom with en-suite and dressing room 3 further bedrooms · 3 further bath/shower rooms · 5th bedroom/cinema room · Store room · South-facing garden · Roof terrace · Off-street parking for 2 cars Approx. 3,662 sq ft · Energy Efficiency Rating D

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR SALE

lettings@aylesford.com

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£4,500 PER WEEK UNFURNISHED

+44 (0)20 7351 2383

aylesford.com

28/03/2018 12:27

Campden Grove, W8 £3,250,000 A unique opportunity to purchase an end of terrace house (C.2745 Sq.ft) which used to be an artist’s studio, built in 1878.

The property contains a dramatic studio reception room on

Alexandra Mathew Property Guru for W8 & W14 D: 020 7908 9257 M: 07974 967 811 E: alex.mathew@youhome.co.uk

the ground floor, with a ceiling height of 3.85m. Freehold.

The best of high street and on-line agency combined, without the traditional cost.

YouHome.indd 1

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Hollywood Road, SW10 ÂŁ3,895,000 A beautiful white stucco-fronted family home (2,365 Sq.ft) arranged over four floors. The house provides ample entertaining space and balanced accommodation throughout, boasting

Alexandra Mathew Property Guru for W8 & W14 D: 020 7908 9257 M: 07974 967 811 E: alex.mathew@youhome.co.uk

excellent proportions and impressive ceiling heights. Freehold.

St Lukes Road, W11 ÂŁ3,600,000 A spacious (3,270 Sq.ft) four bedroom, 3 bathroom (2 ensuite) Notting Hill house with west-facing garden, high ceilings, great living spaces, terraces and storage all a short walk

Jerry Epton (MRICS) Property Guru and Local Expert D: 020 7908 9282 M: 07780 497 188 E: jerry.epton@youhome.co.uk

from the leading schools and facilities of Notting Hill. Freehold.

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Tuesday 17th April 2018, 2–7pm. Admission Free Olympia London, Kensington, London W14 8UX Meet leading independent estate agents, who can provide objective, balanced advice and show you some of the finest property to buy, rent or invest, in and outside the capital, from pied-à-terre’s to country estates. A little taste of country living, with racing pigs and a face painter, makes for a fun afternoon for all the family.

For more information, contact Milly at The London Office on 020 7839 0888

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foster maddison

Witton Hall | County Durham Arguably the finest neo-Georgian country house to have been built in the North of England during the 20th century.

Standing in an elevated position overlooking the Wear Valley. Witton Hall, an exquisitely designed neo-Georgian country house reflecting classic Georgian elements, with exceptional friezes, frescos, marquetry and beautiful Italian marbles, alongside some of the highest calibre modern appointments.

Newcastle T: 01912 818339 Jesmond@fostermaddison.co.uk

Foster Maddison.indd 1

Northumberland T: 01434 605441 Hexham@fostermaddison.co.uk

• • • • • •

Built between 1995 & 1997.

Magnificent reception hall.

Beautifully proportioned drawing room.

Dining room & Orangery with frescos.

Leisure wing with pool & Dance floor.

All weather Tennis court.

County Durham T: 01207 528282 Lanchester@fostermaddison.co.uk

London T: 020 7839 0888 enquiries@tlo.co.uk

29/03/2018 12:57

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country & Village Office 01245 397475

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting Shenfield, Brentwood CM15 from a Guide Price £3,250,000 second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Located in the picturesque Essex countryside and accessed discreetly via a scenic half mile driveway is this stunning and impressive residence which has Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage been occupied by the same family for nearly a century. The property is set in mature and well established gardens of approximately 5.3 acres (STLS). The and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian main residence comprises of seven substantial bedrooms including the master suite, being made up of the principal bedroom, his and hers walk in dressing potential.

EPC Exempt rooms and en-suite. The remainder of the property is made up of seven reception rooms, outdoor heated swimming pool, pool house, stabling, numerous outbuildings and an all weather tennis court. EPC Exempt.

Country Country & & Village VillageOffice Office01245 01245397475 397475

Sales • Lettings • Mortgages Beresfords.indd 196

29/03/2018 14:31

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country & Village Office 01245 397475

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocksCO6 (benefitting from a Aldham, Colchester Guide Price £4,250,000 second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

A magnificent country home offering circa 8000 sq. ft. of extensive family living and set in superb grounds of 76 acres (stls). Incorporating established trees, Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage lake, 9 hole golf course and grass landing strip. Also includes an adjoining coach house providing cart lodge and garaging. EPC E. and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country Country & & Village VillageOffice Office01245 01245397475 397475

Sales • Lettings • Mortgages Beresfords.indd 197

29/03/2018 14:31

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country & Village Office 01245 397475

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a Margaretting, Ingatestone CM4 Guide Price £2,350,000 second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

A most impressive Grade IItennis listed Farmhouse in beautiful Numerous outbuildings, court, double garage condition offering Five double bedrooms with substantial dressing room and ensuite bathroom to the master.

Fourone generous receptions allEquestrian with lovely views to the West or East, set on a stunning plot of just under 5 acres stls. Separate outbuilding providing and detached bedroom annexe. cinema room with adjoining (6th) double bedroom (potential annexe), tennis court, paddocks and lakes. Planning permission passed for two further Barn potential.

EPC Exempt conversions/separate dwellings offering fantastic development potential. (Ingatestone mainline station 2.5 miles). EPC exempt.

Country Country & & Village VillageOffice Office01245 01245397475 397475

Sales • Lettings • Mortgages Beresfords.indd 198

29/03/2018 14:31

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country & Village Office 01245 397475

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting High Easter, Chelmsford CM1from a Guide Price £1,685,000 second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

An outstanding Grade II listed barn conversion offering in excess of 6500 sq.ft of living accommodation set on a stunning plot of circa 3.5 acres (stls). The property Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage features mature formal gardens, idyllic woodland and orchard, a beautiful pond with raised decking area served by a sauna, hot tub and a fantastic annexe. There is and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian also a substantial workshop, three bay cart lodge and garage. Enjoying a rural setting, the property conveniently connects to important main road routes. Stansted potential. EPC Exempt Airport is just a twenty minute drive away and there is an outstanding selection of both grammar and private schools. For the commuter there is an excellent rail service from Chelmsford, Stansted and Sawbridgeworth, as well as access points to the M11 at Harlow and Bishops Stortford. EPC exempt.

Country Country & & Village VillageOffice Office01245 01245397475 397475

Sales • Lettings • Mortgages Beresfords.indd 199

29/03/2018 14:32

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country & Village Office 01245 397475

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a Beauchamp Roding, Ongar CM5 Guide Price £1,175,000 second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

A beautifully presented Grade II listed country home dating back to the 17th century and set within a total of 6.4 acres of grounds (stls).Spacious open plan hallway with study area overlooking the rear gardens.

Numerous outbuildings, tennisceiling court, double Charming dining/living room with exposed timbers, partialgarage studwork partition that allows open access to a charming living room featuring a stunning red-brick inglenook fireplace. Conservatory with terracotta tiles and under heating leading to the patio and picturesque gardens. A beautifully fitted kitchen/breakfast room with Shaker-style units and an oil fired AGA set within an attractive feature brick and detached onefloor bedroom annexe.

Equestrian alcove. Utility/boot room and ground floor cloakroom adjacent to kitchen. First floor landing with vaulted ceilings and an attractive floor to ceiling, red-brick chimney breast. Two family bathrooms and three good potential.

EPC Exempt size double bedrooms, all with superb outlooks across the neighbouring countryside and grounds. The village of Beauchamp Roding is situated centrally to Brentwood, Epping, Stansted Airport and Chelmsford.

The property has three double bedrooms with planning application awaiting decision for 4th bedroom extension. Adjacent to the gardens, the further 5.9 acres (stls) of mainly paddock, trees and hedging combined with a superb network of neighbouring bridleways provides excellent potential for equestrian use.

Country Country & & Village VillageOffice Office01245 01245397475 397475

Sales • Lettings • Mortgages Beresfords.indd 200

29/03/2018 14:32

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting from a second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt

Country & Village Office 01245 397475

Fryerning Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II listed period property thought to date back 500 years.

This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting and extensive family living space over two floors. The 7.5 acre plot comprises formal grounds mixed sympathetically with Brentwood paddocks (benefitting from a Little Warley, CM13 Guide Price £1,250,000 second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake.

With the possibility to add a 4th bedroom (STTP), this delightful three bedroom, oak framed, Grade II listed cottage is set within 3.042 acres (stls) and situated Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage in a wonderful rural setting that borders a stunning country park. Peacefully located towards the end of an idyllic, no through way country lane, the cottage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian offers doorstep access to its rolling countryside surroundings. There is a separate gated access driveway leading to attractive stable buildings, recently potential. EPC Exempt converted to a self-contained office and single carport with annexe ideal for use as a gym. Brentwood town centre is just 3.6 miles away and there is easy access to the A127 and M25. EPC Exempt.

Country Country & & Village VillageOffice Office01245 01245397475 397475

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29/03/2018 14:32

01223 214214

cheffins.co.uk

UNRIVALLED COVERAGE AROUND CAMBRIDGE

Hartington Grove, Cambridge - Station 1 mile

£1,300,000

A most impressive and substantial extended semi-detached two storey bay fronted Victorian residence extending in all to approx. 2,500 square feet with generous gardens and double garage in this most convenient south city location just off Hills Road close to a good range of local amenities, Addenbrookes Hospital, mainline railway station and the City Centre. Accommodation set over three floors comprising: entrance hall, reception hall, living room, sitting room, office/study, cloakroom, utility room, kitchen/breakfast room, dining/family room. First floor: landing, 3 bedrooms, bathroom, shower room. Second floor: landing, 2 bedrooms, shower room. The property also features a cellar, front, side and rear gardens and detached double garage.

Contact: Richard Freshwater / Cambridge Office: 01223 214214 / richard.freshwater@cheffins.co.uk

Glebe Close - Station 1 mile

£1,000,000

Situated at the end of a private cul-de-sac in one of the city’s most desirable locations, this ultra-modern and luxuriously appointed brand new townhouse has been constructed and finished to exemplary standards and is so conveniently placed for access to the station, Addenbrookes Hospital and the city’s most prestigious schools. The property provides versatile and well-proportioned accommodation including a stunning open-plan kitchen/living/dining room which provides access to the separate utility room, living room and downstairs cloakroom, four double bedrooms, two with en-suite and further family bathroom. The property also has a landscaped garden to the rear and parking for 2 vehicles. A very special opportunity for city living in a remarkably private and peaceful setting.

Contact: Martin Walshe / Cambridge Office 01223 214214 / martin.walshe@cheffins.co.uk

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29/03/2018 15:10

CAMBRIDGE ELY HAVERHILL NEWMARKET SAFFRON WALDEN LONDON

Duxford - Station 1 mile

ÂŁ825,000

A most handsome brick and flint former school house with accommodation extending to approx. 1575 square feet in an idyllic and picturesque setting next to the church in the heart of this thriving south Cambridgeshire village with mature gardens, double garage and outbuildings. On the ground floor, the property comprises: living room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, cloak/shower room and bedroom 5. First floor: landing, 4 further bedrooms, family bathroom. Outside there is a detached double garage, storage shed and delightful rear garden.

Contact: Richard Freshwater / Cambridge Office 01223 214214 / richard.freshwater@cheffins.co.uk

Woodland Rise, Great Chesterford - Station 0.5 miles

from ÂŁ300,000

Woodland Rise is a superb new development that will appeal to those who demand the convenience and comfort of contemporary living in a prestigious village location surrounded by undulating countryside. There is a diverse mix of accommodation from apartments to detached houses in a variety of designs and finishes, from traditional brick and render to timber cladding. Set within a picturesque village community with excellent local amenities, a vibrant primary school and the tranquil River Cam meandering through the heart of the countryside, Great Chesterford has a bus service and the added benefit of a mainline station just a 5 minute walk away, providing services to Cambridge in less than 20 minutes and London Liverpool Street in just over an hour, giving commuters convenient access to both cities.

Contact: Bruce King / Saffron Walden 01799 523656 / bruce.king@cheffins.co.uk

Passionate about property since 1825

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cheffins.co.uk

29/03/2018 12:57

01223 214214

cheffins.co.uk

UNRIVALLED COVERAGE AROUND CAMBRIDGE

Linton - Station 5 miles

ÂŁ1,000,000

Summerfield House is a most impressive detached period residence with beautifully presented and well-proportioned accommodation arranged over 3 floors extending to about 4,000 square feet, together with attractive grounds of about 0.29 acres with a useful range of outbuildings situated close to the heart of this thriving, well served South Cambridgeshire village. Accommodation on three floors comprising: reception hallway, sitting room, orangery, dining room, living room, rear lobby and hall, cloakroom, kitchen/breakfast room, inner hallway, utility/boot room, family room.

On the first floor: landing, master bedroom suite comprising bedroom, dressing room, bathroom and separate toilet, 3 further bedrooms, bathroom.

On the second floor: study/landing, shower room, 2 bedrooms. The property also benefits from gated access, double garage and rear garden. EER:E Contact: Richard Freshwater / Cambridge Office: 01223 214214 / richard.freshwater@cheffins.co.uk

Ickleton - Station 4 miles

ÂŁ1,150,000

Stockton Lodge is a most impressive and substantial detached country residence of considerable charm and character occupying this semi-rural location on the outskirts of the village. It benefits from breath taking views over the adjoining countryside and stands comfortably within its own established grounds in all extending to approx. 0.67 acres with detached double garage. Accommodation comprising: hall, cloakroom, living room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, utility room, study. First floor landing, master bedroom suite with dressing room and ensuite bathroom, bedroom 2 with ensuite, 3 further bedrooms, family bathroom. Outside landscaped grounds with detached double garage. EER:D Contact: Richard Freshwater / Cambridge Office: 01223 214214 / richard.freshwater@cheffins.co.uk

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29/03/2018 12:57

CAMBRIDGE ELY HAVERHILL NEWMARKET SAFFRON WALDEN LONDON

Approx. 8.85 acres

Widdington - Station 3 miles

ÂŁ1,575,000

A substantial detached country house providing versatile and well-proportioned accommodation extending to in excess of 6,000 sq ft including a self-contained annex and occupying a secluded and idyllic location within a quiet country lane, in this highly sought after and most desirable village.

Reception hall, cloakroom, playroom/office, family room, sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, utility room. Annexe comprising: reception room/kitchen, bedroom 2 and ensuite plus further bedroom. Basement and store room. First floor: 6 bedrooms, 3 ensuites and family bathroom. Beautiful and mature grounds of around 8.85 acres, swimming pool. EER:C Contact: Bruce King / Saffron Walden Office: 01799 523656 / bruce.king@cheffins.co.uk

Debden Green - Station 4 miles

ÂŁ790,000

A stunning, detached, Grade II listed residence dating back to circa 1670. Sympathetically and extensively renovated by the current owners to offer beautifully presented and highly flexible accommodation, together with a beautiful, south facing landscaped garden. Entrance hall, dining room, kitchen, rear hallway, breakfast room, sitting room, study, guest suite/bedroom 4, bathroom. On the first floor: landing, 3 bedrooms, bathroom.

Outside there is a driveway, cartlodge with workshop, terrace and landscaped garden to the rear.

Contact: Bruce King / Saffron Walden Office: 01799 523656 / bruce.king@cheffins.co.uk

Passionate about property since 1825

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cheffins.co.uk

29/03/2018 12:58

Personal. Bespoke. Innovative. johndwood.co.uk

Nazeing, Essex Enviably positioned in a private and secluded location on the Essex and Hertfordshire borders, surrounded by ornate, formal gardens and grounds approaching 68 acres, Nazeing Park House is a magnificent Grade II listed 18th Century country residence featuring approximately 20,000 sq. ft. of versatile living accommodation which includes the main house and separate coach house, perfect for entertaining on a grand scale.

The main house is stunning, totalling over 14,000 sq. ft. of grand and luxurious living and entertaining space. The property comprises; nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms (five of which are en-suite) and staff accommodation with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

John Wood & Co.indd 1 1807 D JDW Country & Townhouse Advert.indd 1

26/03/2018 23/03/2018 15:09 16:07

The coach house has an additional two bedrooms as well as a spacious studio, which could be used as either a games or entertainment room, or further staff accommodation. Approx. 20,000 sq. ft.

12 bedrooms, 9 reception rooms, 7 bathrooms, annexe for staff, art studio, stables, coach house.

Freehold Guide Price ÂŁ8,750,000 Loughton - 020 8419 1140

John Wood & Co.indd 2 1807 D JDW Country & Townhouse Advert.indd 2

26/03/2018 23/03/2018 15:09 16:07

hamptons.co.uk

Hurley, Berkshire A stunning, five bedroom brick and flint house in a charming and historic village. The house sits discreetly behind an attractive walled frontage and the River Thames is just a short stroll away at the end of the road. EPC: D

£2,500,000 Freehold • Delightful landscaped garden of 0.3 acres • Double aspect drawing room with exposed timbers • Master bedroom suite with dressing room and vaulted ceiling • Separate studio/office in grounds • Electric gates and double garage

Hamptons Henley 01491 260182 | henley@hamptons-int.com

CTH-Hamptons.indd 1

21/03/2018 14:16

One Event.

Thousands of Movers.

We are bringing buyers and sellers together over one weekend. So join our Big Open House Event on 28th and 29th April and we can help you get moving.

Visit hamptons.co.uk/open-house or call one of our branches to see how you can get involved. /HamptonsInt

Exclus i mortg ve ag availa e†s ble

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WIN £5,000

To spend at MADE.COM

Simply invite one of our agents to value your property or view a Big Open House property, and you will be eligible to enter the prize draw.*

*Terms and Conditions apply. Please visit www.hamptons.co.uk/open-house-prize-draw for full terms and entry conditions. Enter between 19 March 2018 and 4 May 2018 for your chance to win. Internet access required. Prize must be redeemed within 6 months of receipt. The Countrywide UK’s Big Open House Prize Draw is offered by our Group Company Countrywide Estate Agents, whose registered address is 88-103 Caldecotte Lake Drive, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 8JT. †Exclusive mortgages are available through Capital Private Finance for a limited period. Terms and conditions apply. Mortgage availability depends on your circumstances and you will be charged a fee if you choose to proceed.

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03/04/2018 11:38

Patek Philippe.indd 1

03/04/2018 11:39